Duplicity
by dsfeo78
Summary: A Rizzles tale exploring the discovery of Maura's paternity. Set during season 1. Can be considered slightly AU since I will not follow established canon.
1. Chapter 1

Duplicity

**A/N- Normally I would try to give a decent summary about the story but I really can't without the risk of giving too much away too soon. But here is what I can tell you- **

**Rizzles: Yes...oh and please take note of the rating for this story.**

**Timing: Set during the events of S1 E9 The Beast in Me**

**Canon: This story follows general first season R&I canon until Maura's initial discovery of her biological connection to Colin Doyle and by extension to Patrick. After that, this story turns into my definition of AU since I take significant creative license and break away from canon. (You'll understand that more as the story progresses.)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own a thing- especially the characters that seem to be my perpetual muses. Those belong to others whose talents far surpass my own.**

Chapter 1

The senior criminalist took the last of the pages she had been waiting to print from the printer and placed everything into the file. It was the last of the lab reports that Dr. Isles had been waiting for since earlier that morning. She doubled checked the pages making sure she hadn't left anything out or forgotten to include any information. Seeing that she had everything that was needed she headed out of the lab and walked towards the ME's office.

She found the door slightly ajar and paused for a moment to listen. She didn't want to interrupt anything if Dr. Isles was with someone or on the phone. But she didn't hear any voices so she decided it was safe to knock on the door.

"Come in," came the voice of the ME responding to the knock on her door.

"Dr. Isles," Susie announced as she entered the ME's office. "I have the DNA profile analysis for the Barker case," she said as she handed over the folder to her boss.

"Thank you Susie," Maura replied taking the file from the criminalist. She opened the file and reviewed several pages within the folder. After a few moments, she closed the file and handed it back to Susie. "You can run this upstairs and give it to Sergeant Korsak."

Susie couldn't help the flash of disappointment that she felt. She had expected Dr. Isles to hand her the file for her to deliver to the homicide team but a small part of her was hoping the ME would want to deliver the file herself. But as she accepted the file back she knew that things had not changed. She had been playing the go-between for over three weeks.

"Yes Doctor," Susie said. There wasn't anything left for her to say. It certainly wasn't her place to question her boss about the status of her friendship with Detective Rizzoli. She doubted Dr. Isles would even want to talk about whatever had caused the fight the two seemed to still be in the middle of having. She just found it sad that two people who were such close friends seemed to be unable to get past whatever it was that had caused their fight.

When it was clear that nothing else was needed or wanted from Susie, she turned and left the office heading for the elevators. She had lost count of the number of times she had made this journey over the last three weeks. There had been enough trips for her to realize how spoiled she had been by the friendship between the ME and detective. Until three weeks ago, Detective Rizzoli either came down for all the lab reports or Dr. Isles seemed to deliver them herself.

But then came the fight.

The entire station was aware of the fact that the two women were fighting only no one really seemed to know exactly what had started the fight. There were rumors and theories but at this point it was hard to pull fact from fiction. From Susie's original understanding, the two got into a disagreement at a crime scene. But over the last few weeks she had heard everything from the fight happening in the bullpen with Detectives Frost and Korsak having to separate the two to the fight actually taking place at Dr. Isles' Beacon Hill home after work one night.

Anyone tied to the station seemed to have supposedly either been there to witness the fight or knew what the fight had been about. But the few times Susie had asked people who were supposed to have witnessed the disagreement, those people weren't actual witnesses. They just heard from someone who heard from someone that the two were fighting and usually repeated the most current rumor. And there seemed to be no one who knew for certain what the two were even fighting about. Those rumors were too numerous for Susie to even start to sort through them again.

As Susie got off the elevator, she was hoping that Detective Rizzoli might be at her desk. Perhaps she would give some sort of clue about the current status of things. But as the criminalist entered the bullpen she found only Detectives Frost and Korsak. It didn't appear as if she would get any more answers this trip upstairs.

She approached Sergeant Korsak's desk and he looked up to greet her.

"Hello Susie," he said with a warm smile.

Susie smiled back. She had always liked Sergeant Korsak. He was an extremely nice man. "Good afternoon Sergeant," she said. "I have the last of the lab reports on the Barker case for you." She handed Korsak the file.

"Thank you," he said taking the file from the criminalist.

As he started to open the file Susie spoke. "Dr. Isles has seen the results so if you, or any other detective," she threw in in hopes of maybe getting some reaction from the older detective, "has any questions she will be more than able to answer them."

Korsak nodded but didn't take the obvious bait. "Thank you," he simply said again and it was clear he wasn't going to ask her any questions.

Seeing that there was nothing else for her to do, the criminalist wished the two detectives a good afternoon and made her way back towards the elevator. As she was leaving she overheard the start of a conversation.

"It's been three weeks," she heard Detective Frost say. Hearing this she slowed down her walking pace trying to hear the rest of the conversation. She knew she probably shouldn't. She knew it was none of her business. But sheer curiosity and a legitimate concern for a boss she genuinely liked compelled her to accept her current state of nosiness.

"I know," she heard Sergeant Korsak reply.

"Don't you think we should maybe try to do something?" Frost asked.

"Like what? This isn't our business," replied Korsak. "Those two are just going to have to work things out for themselves."

"But they don't seem to be doing that," Frost pointed out.

While she was some distance away, Susie could still hear the Sergeant sigh. "I know. But you and I both know Jane well enough to know that if she isn't talking about this with us, or her family, right now there just isn't anything we can do."

"I've never seen them go this long without speaking before," Frost said.

"Neither have I," Korsak admitted. "And to be honest with you, the longer they go the more worried about them both I am getting."

"And Frankie doesn't know anything?" Frost asked.

"Nothing," Korsak answered. "According to him, Jane refuses to talk about it to either him or Angela."

"Angela seems pretty close with Maura," Frost pointed out. "Maybe…"

"Angela doesn't know anything either," Korsak answered. "According to her Maura refuses to discuss the issue at all and has asked Angela not to bring it up."

"Oh," Frost responded. "That's not a good sign."

"No," Korsak replied, "it really isn't."

The conversation seemed to end and Susie had lingered for as long as she could justify. She hadn't learned anything new really except the part about Dr. Isles asking Mrs. Rizzoli not to talk about her and Jane. But there wasn't any explanation and Susie got the distinct impression both the detectives were as worried about the two women as everyone else at the station was.

With that thought not providing any comfort to the criminalist at all, Susie made it to the elevators and headed back down to the lab.

R&I

When Jane returned from her lunch she was told by Korsak that Lieutenant Cavanaugh needed to see her. She threw her jacket onto her desk and made her way to his office. She knocked gently on his door.

"You needed to see me?" Jane asked as she was knocking. It wasn't until after she had asked the question that she noticed there was someone other than Cavanaugh in the room. "Oh, sorry. I can come back later," she said feeling bad for interrupting.

"Rizzoli," Sean said stopping Jane from retreating away from his door. "Come in."

Jane nodded and entered. Turning her attention to the other occupant in the room she was surprised to see who it was. "Agent Dean?" she uttered unable to hide the surprise in her tone. Dean was the last person she had expected to see in Cavanaugh's office.

Gabriel Dean stood up from his chair in an attempt to greet the detective he had been so fascinated with since their first encounter dealing with Charles Hoyt. On instinct he extended his hand to shake hers but knew quickly that was a mistake. She had never taken his hand before and he was immediately sure she wouldn't take it now. He pulled his hand back as smoothly as possible trying not to upset Jane. He always seemed to forget about her scars.

"Detective," he said with a warm smile. He'd missed her. He hadn't seen her in about four months and he found he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. Their last encounter was unsettling for him. He wanted more. Wanted to explore what he was feeling but she had pushed him away using Hoyt as her excuse. "It's good to see you again."

Jane simply nodded but couldn't manage to answer him. At the moment she wasn't sure how she felt about seeing him again. "What's going on?" she asked turning her attention to Cavanaugh. She wanted her answers from her boss. Not the FBI agent she hadn't seen in a while.

"Rizzoli," Cavanaugh started indicating to Jane to take a seat next to Dean. "Agent Dean is here looking into a series of murders in Connecticut."

"Connecticut?" Jane asked. Boston certainly wasn't Connecticut.

"Yes," answered Dean this time. "We are assisting in the investigation of several homicides headed up by the Connecticut State police. They have cases in both Bridgeport and Bristol. We believe that they are the work of a single killer."

Jane again turned to Cavanaugh. "And our involvement?" Dean hadn't said anything about Massachusetts or specifically Boston.

"The Connecticut State police ran the MO through ViCAP," Cavanaugh answered. "There are two possible hits, one from Boston and one from Cambridge, based on the MO."

Now she turned to Dean, "Cold cases?" she asked assuming that's why she was in the office now and not a detective assigned to an active investigation.

Dean nodded. "We think they might be our killer's first murders given the timeline."

Jane was quiet for a moment. She hadn't expected this and while she wanted to push back she decided that it wasn't the right thing to do. Instead, she turned to Dean. "What do you need us for?"

"I'd like your help reviewing the case from Boston as well as the one from Cambridge," he said.

Jane turned to Cavanaugh. "Cambridge will turn over their files?"

Cavanaugh nodded. Jane knew Cavanaugh would have cleared this with Cambridge PD. They were generally strapped for resources as it was and she was sure the brass practically jumped at the chance to dump off a cold case investigation initiated by the feds.

"Korsak and Frost can finish up the Barker investigation," Cavanaugh said. "I'd like you to review the State police information with Agent Dean and then work with him on a review of the cold case files."

Jane nodded. "Effective?" she asked already knowing the answer.

"We'd like the case reviews to occur as quickly as possible," Dean answered. "Connecticut police are trying to determine the scope of their killer's activities and if the Boston or Cambridge cases are connected we are hoping they may give some insight into the identity of their killer."

"So effective immediately," Jane replied answering her own question. Both men just nodded. Jane sighed. "Alright. Agent Dean, would you mind stepping out for just a moment so I can speak with my Lieutenant?"

"Certainly," Dean said and rose. He extended his hand to Cavanaugh who shook it. "Lieutenant, we appreciate the support in this matter." Cavanaugh simply nodded.

"You can wait for me down in the cafe," Jane said to Dean. "I will be down shortly."

Dean nodded and stepped out of the office. Jane turned to Cavanaugh. "Connecticut?" she asked not hiding her skeptical tone.

Cavanaugh shrugged his shoulders. "Let's just see where this takes us," he replied. Jane nodded. She knew she didn't have a choice. She stood up to leave but Cavanaugh stopped her. "Jane," he said and paused. "I'm sorry about this."

Jane was quiet for a moment but then spoke. "It needs to be done," was all she said before heading downstairs to talk with Dean.

R&I

"Here you go Dr. Isles," said Stanley as he passed the hot tea over to the ME.

"Thank you," Maura said accepting the tea. Maura turned to leave the cafe and almost ran right into someone. Without really looking to see who it was she started to apologize. "I'm so sorry," she said taking a step back from whoever she had bumped into.

"That's alright Dr. Isles," Dean said as he attempted to greet the ME with a smile. "I should have moved out of your way."

"I should have been paying attention to where I was going Agent Dean," Maura admitted. If she was surprised to see the FBI agent at all she didn't show it.

"Perhaps you can join me for a moment," Dean said. "I'm just waiting for Detective Rizzoli." If he was looking for any sort of reaction from the doctor at all, he didn't get one. "In fact, we may need your assistance on a few cold case files."

"If Detective Rizzoli needs anything from the medical examiner's office in reference to a case or investigation, she will know the proper procedures for making such a request," Maura answered in a flat tone. "If you will excuse me Agent Dean," she added and stepped aside without waiting for his response.

About five minutes later Jane entered the café and looked around trying to spot the federal agent. Seeing Dean sitting at a table in the corner she made her way over to the table. "Sorry about the wait," Jane said as she sat down. "I needed to cover some open issues with the lieutenant and drop off some notes on the case I'm being pulled away from to Frost."

"That's alright," he conceded. "I know this wasn't what you had planned for today." He wasn't too surprised she didn't seem happy to be pulled off of an active investigation.

"So, why me?" she asked not bothering to even try any small talk. There were several homicide detectives that could have been picked for this case review.

"I was hoping you'd be happy to see me," Dean threw out there with a smile. He was testing the water just a bit. While Jane smiled she didn't take the bait. Not getting the response he was hoping he would get he added, "I wanted the best. That would be you."

Jane also didn't respond to that comment but she did smile again. "So, talk to me about the Connecticut cases."

Dean spent the next thirty minutes reviewing the general facts from the cases the State police had been working. He also showed Jane the ViCAP results which had indicated a possible link to a case in Boston from seven years ago and one in Cambridge from six years ago. As Jane reviewed the ViCAP information she was skeptical.

"This isn't much," she said. The MO was similar but not an exact match and from what Dean had said about the victims from Connecticut cases the victims were not exactly the same 'type' as the cold case files from either Boston or Cambridge.

"We know," Dean conceded. "But we felt it was enough to at least review the files." Seeing Jane's skeptical look he admitted, "The Connecticut State police don't have much to go on. They are getting desperate for clues."

Jane nodded. She had at times been involved in cases without leads or clues and knew how frustrating it all could be. Grasping at straws tended to happen when an investigation hit that point. "We won't get the Cambridge files until at least tomorrow. I'll request our files but we probably won't see them until later this afternoon. You can leave me the files you have from the State police and then why don't we meet here tomorrow morning and get started then?" she offered.

"This should give you everything the State police has to date," Dean said passing the file folder over to Jane. "If there anything you want Dr. Isles to review or re-test the State police will make all of the evidence available to the medical examiner's office."

Jane accepted the folder but didn't say anything for a minute. She finally looked up at Dean and spoke. "I'm sure the State labs have run everything needed for the case." She didn't elaborate further.

This was now the second time Dean was exposed to apparent tension between the ME and the detective. He just wasn't sure if he should mention it to Jane or not. He also was a little disappointed that he was being dismissed already but there really wasn't much they could do together until they got the case files.

He thought maybe he would try one more time. "Jane," he started and looked at her. "I was hoping that maybe we could…" he paused. He wasn't sure if he was asking her out on a date or just trying to spend some time with her. He was pretty sure a 'date' wasn't a possibility. "I was hoping that maybe we could have some coffee and catch up."

He wanted to spend time with her. He wanted to know what was going on between her and Maura. He thought maybe since they were already sitting at the cafe and they were in a waiting mode perhaps she would at least agree to some coffee and more personal conversation. So far she hadn't seemed willing to walk down that road with him.

"Gabe," Jane said and sighed. "I have a lot going on right now," she said. She knew what he wanted but she just wasn't willing to give into him yet.

"It's just coffee Jane," he tried to point out.

"I think you and I both know it's not 'just' anything with you," she pushed back. The man always had an agenda and Jane was fully aware of his agenda now. Whether he was aware of that or not was not Jane's issue at the moment.

"So," Dean sighed in apparent but temporary defeat.

"So," Jane answered. "I'll see you in the morning." It was a stance she was unwilling to waver from.

Dean stood up. "I'll see you in the morning then" he said clearly not getting what he wanted at his first effort to spend time with the detective.

Jane nodded. "9 am," was all she said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jane waited for Dean to leave the café before she made a move to head back up to the bullpen carrying the State files with her. She wanted to make sure Frost and Korsak were alright handling the rest of the Barker investigation. They had a solid lead on a suspect and Jane wasn't too worried about their ability to close out the case. She wasn't thrilled she was being pulled off the case but she understood it needed to be done.

As Jane was riding up the elevator, the phone in her pocket vibrated. It caught her a little by surprise and she had to fight the urge to pull the phone out while in the elevator. Instead, she aimlessly flipped through the State police file not really paying attention to any of the details. Once the elevator doors opened she made her way to her desk.

"Agent Dean, huh?" Frost asked her with a wink and a smile.

She knew what he was implying. "So not going to happen," she said. She knew Frost was aware that Dean had expressed an interest in her the last time they had worked together.

"Do you really think the cold cases are tied to those murders in Connecticut?" Korsak asked.

Jane shook her head. "My gut says no," she admitted. "But I haven't seen the cold case files and I haven't really looked through the State files yet either," she indicated to the folder she placed on her desk. "But the ViCAP hits are marginal at best. I'll be surprised if this turns out to be a hit."

While Korsak and Frost chatted Jane excused herself for the restroom. Once inside she stepped into a stall and shut the door. She reached for her phone. Not the one she kept secured to her hip. But the one that she had been carrying in her pocket for some time now. She hit a few buttons on her burner phone to see what the message she had received while on the elevator said.

_6:00 pm_

It wasn't much but it told her everything she needed to know. She returned the phone into her pocket and went back to join her partners.

"Are you guys going to be alright finishing up the Barker case?" Jane asked as she returned to her desk. "I feel bad leaving you in mid-investigation."

Korsak nodded. "We should be fine. The last lab report confirmed what we thought. The blood found under Barker's fingernails matches the blood type of our suspect. Frost thinks we can dispute his alibi and when that happens we can get a warrant for his DNA profile. That should seal the deal."

Jane knew he was right. The case was coming to an end. She pulled her phone from her hip and looked at the time. It was only 3 pm. She had enough time to review some of the State files before she needed to head out. She settled into her desk and proceeded to review the files for about an hour.

She finished the State file review and decided to head out. She needed to make it home, take care of Jo and still have enough time to get there by 6 pm. She stood up and gathered her things.

"I'm out," she announced to the guys. Both of whom just nodded their heads. "Have a good night," she added as she headed to the elevators. She had somewhere she needed to be.

R&I

Jane finished her walk with Jo and hurried up the stairs. Jo had decided to take her sweet time that night and now Jane was running a little behind. She secured the dog in the apartment making sure to double check the water and food situation before she headed out.

"Behave," she said to Jo who just looked at Jane like it was a crazy thing to say. "I'll be home later."

Jane made her way down the steps of her apartment and knew she needed to put a little speed in her jog. She needed to make up some time and her jogging pace was the best place for her to do so. She turned the volume up on her iPod and took off down the sidewalk. She needed to get to Boston Common as quickly as she could.

Jane's running pace was good. She made up the time she needed to and in the end she actually appreciated the workout. Once she got to Boston Common, she flagged down a cab. Once inside she gave an address and the cabbie took off. Jane scanned out the window as the cab drove off. Once the cab was en route she pulled out her burner cell phone and typed a quick message.

_On the way._

It didn't take too long for a reply to come across.

_416_

Again, while simple and quick it was everything Jane needed to know.

As she returned the burner phone to her pocket the cab pulled up to the destination Jane had given. Jane paid the cabbie and got out. She watched the cab pull away before stepping out into the road and hailing a second cab. Getting into this one, she gave another address and settled into the back seat. She pulled the phone from her hip and checked the time. It was 5:45 pm. Unless the second cab hit traffic, she would her final destination on time. Before she re-clipped the phone to her hip she double checked to ensure she had turned off the GPS function on the phone. She was sure she had. But over the last few weeks she had developed a habit of double checking the little details like handling her phone's GPS.

It was probably unnecessary but she had done so anyway. Just as she was sure taking multiple cabs before getting to her destination was probably unnecessary as well. So, too, was refusing to drive her car to any of these encounters. But she continued, and would continue, to do that as well. She couldn't be too cautious as far as she was concerned.

She finally arrived to her destination and paid the cabbie. Getting out she entered the building and went straight for the elevators. She was in luck as one was already on the lobby level and the doors opened immediately for the detective who got in and pressed the '4' button. Once on the fourth floor, Jane made her way as quickly as she could to 416 where she approached and only needed to knock once before the door flew open and Jane found herself getting pulled into the room.

R&I

She didn't even have time to say hello before she was pushed up against the door and a pair of lips began a surprising but certainly not unwanted attack on her own. The kiss was sudden, almost desperate but full of passion. Arms wrapped tightly around Jane's neck as the kiss grew in intensity. Jane's arms wrapped around the waist in front of her as she surrendered herself completely to the kiss.

"Jane," came the whispered voice. The voice dripping with want.

"Sshhhh," Jane responded. This wasn't the time for conversation. Instead, Jane recaptured the lips in front of her all the while letting her hands work to undo the buttons on the shirt she now found beneath her fingers. As lips continued to play and fingers continued to loosen clothing articles, Jane slowly started to walk the two away from the door and towards the bed in the room. It would take them a few minutes to get there but they would eventually reach their destination.

"God I want you," Jane uttered as she managed the last of the buttons she had been working to undo. With the buttons taken care of Jane slipped the shirt off the shoulders and let the garment fall onto the floor in front of her.

"Then take me," Maura replied with a seductive smile as she unclasped her bra letting it fall to the floor joining her blouse in what would soon become a large pile of discarded clothes. Reaching out she took ahold of the detective's hands and placed them on her breasts.

Jane couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips. As she let her hands slowly start to knead the breasts she considered for a moment that they were made specifically with her hands in mind. The fit was perfect. "If you insist," she shot back as she again captured the lips of the ME for another passionate kiss. She moved the ME backwards enough that Maura practically fell onto the bed.

Jane pulled herself away from Maura only long enough to quickly discard herself of her shirt and sports bra which she added to the pile of clothes accumulating on the floor. Wasting no further time, Jane hovered over Maura and again went in for a passionate kiss. She let Maura settle onto the bed as they kissed. Breaking away from Maura's lips Jane worked her way across the ME's chin and started to caress her lips against Maura's neck. She worked over Maura's pulse point for a few moments but eventually making her way up towards an awaiting earlobe.

She heard the hitch in Maura's breath when she sucked the earlobe into her mouth. She had discovered that this was a particularly sensitive area for Maura. One in which she had no problems working over to help build on Maura's anticipation. The sounds she found she could get from the ME with just attention paid to this part of her body were sounds she wouldn't mind causing as often as possible.

As she worked over Maura's neck and earlobe, she let her hand move down towards Maura's pants. She fumbled just a little as her other hand was still needed to help keep her propped up above the doctor but she managed to undo the button and zipper on Maura's slacks without having to break away from what her lips were still occupying themselves with. Before she finished her attempt to remove the ME from her remaining clothes, Jane used her own feet to push off her sneakers letting the shoes fall to the floor without caring where they landed.

Jane left the neck area and worked her lips across Maura's clavicle and then down towards her breasts. Turning her attention to them, Jane slowly traced a hardened nipple with just the tip of her tongue. She loved the taste of Maura's skin. It was like nothing she had ever tasted before. It was simply Maura. As she continued to trace a tiny circular pattern with her tongue she knew she wanted more. Needed more.

So she took more. She wrapped her lips around the nipple and took it in. This combined with the action of her still active tongue elicited a deep moan from the ME. Jane let her hand start to massage Maura's other breast not wanting to neglect any part of her body.

Maura's second moan was a bit louder and full of her growing desire. "Please," she uttered. While she loved the feel of Jane's lips anywhere on her body, she wanted more. As far as she was concerned they both still had too much on and that needed to change. She managed to work Jane out of her shorts and panties finding that it was the most she seemed to be able to contribute at the moment. But getting the detective naked was quite a contribution.

Jane took Maura's hint letting her hand leave the breast she had been fondling and she worked it down towards the already loosened pants. She hooked a thumb under both Maura's pants and panties and started to work them down past her hips and pushed them down past her knees. Once that was achieved, it didn't take much for Maura to wiggle her legs just enough for gravity to handle the rest of her disrobement. They both released a sigh as their naked bodies pressed against each other for the first time that night.

Jane had continued sucking on Maura's breast as she had helped Maura out of her clothes. She hadn't wanted to pull her lips away from Maura's body. The most she did was move over to the other breast to begin her assault on an equally hardened nipple. She lingered over Maura's breast for a bit longer before slowly continuing her way down Maura's body.

She kissed her way around Maura's abs and let the tip of her tongue dip into her belly button. The action caused Maura to giggle just a bit. "Jane please," she uttered again as the giggle quickly left her and was replaced by sheer need. Jane was closer to what she needed but not close enough for Maura to get what she wanted.

Jane let her hand gently trace patterns up Maura's inner thigh stroking up and down but avoiding what she knew Maura wanted. It was a little mean to tease but she just couldn't help it. She was reducing the normally stoic medical examiner to a quivering mess and she loved that she had that kind of effect on her. "Please what?" Jane asked in between kisses as her mouth still trailed agonizingly slowly downward and across Maura's skin.

"I need you," Maura stammered. Her breathing was rapid and shallow and the combination of Jane's lips and fingertips were like electrical currents running through her entire body. Never in her life had she been as affected by someone's touch as she was by Jane's. Her body flushed with a burning desire anywhere the detective chose to touch her.

"You have me," Jane gently pointed out. She was slowly bringing her lips and fingers to where she knew Maura wanted her and to where she desperately wanted to be.

"Not where I need you," Maura hissed as Jane's fingertip casually grazed across Maura's outer lips. The action was just enough for Maura to want more and just enough for Jane to feel just how wet, how ready Maura truly was.

Jane started kissing Maura's inner thighs. Drawing out the want as much as she could although just the smell of Maura's arousal was becoming enough to test Jane's will in the continuation of her teasing. "And where would that be Doctor?" Jane asked in between kisses on the thighs.

Before Maura could answer, Jane let her lips brush over Maura's outer lips. But when Maura's hips bucked towards the contact Jane backed away. Maura groaned at the teasing. She couldn't take much more of it. "Jane," she said in desperation.

"Where Maura?" Jane asked once again. She was determined to withhold her final assault on the doctor until she got the answer she was seeking.

As Maura was about to answer Jane gave in partially as she sucked Maura's clit into her mouth.

"Oh God," gasped Maura as she clearly wasn't expecting Jane to do that yet. She arched herself into Jane's talented mouth and tightened her grip on the bed sheets.

Jane worked over Maura's clit between her lips and with her tongue. She knew the effect she was having on the ME whose breath was getting more and more labored. "Where…?" Jane whispered as she let her tongue swirl over the delicate skin now at the center of her attention.

Maura knew Jane wouldn't give in on the last part of this without an answer but she was struggling to put a coherent string of words together. The feel of Jane's mouth seeming all over her was pushing her to the edge. Somewhere in her mind she knew without an answer Jane wouldn't let her fall over that edge so she mustered up the last of her reserve and stuttered out the answer Jane was waiting for.

"In...Inside me….," she gasped. "Please."

That's all Jane needed to hear. She continued to work over Maura's clit with her mouth but she finally inserted two fingers into her waiting and wanting core.

"God Jane," Maura gasped in both desire and relief finally getting from the detective everything she had wanted in that moment.

Jane started to work up a decent rhythm pushing in and pulling out of Maura all the while still letting her tongue work its magic. Maura's breathing started to become erratic and her moans grew louder and louder. Her hips were starting to jerk randomly and Jane had to press down with a little more body weight in order to hold the doctor still. Feeling Maura's reactions to her assault Jane picked up her pace now determined to push Maura over the edge. She started to curl her fingers as she pulled out adding to Maura's pleasure.

It only took a matter a minutes before Jane felt Maura's inner walls begin to tighten. Maura now had a death grip on the bed sheets and was unable to utter even a single word. Jane couldn't help the pride she felt knowing she was the cause of Maura's current state of pleasure.

Two more strokes and Maura crashed letting her orgasm wash through her. Jane pulled back and slowed her strokes but didn't stop them. She wanted the pleasure to last as long as possible. She tightened her hold around the shaking ME's body and just held her close. She loved the feeling of Maura's body pressed against hers.

As Maura came down she tried to slow her breathing. "That was…." she started and stopped for a minute still trying to catch her breath. "God Jane that was..." She paused again still not quite able to form the words she wanted in that moment.

Jane giggled. "Have I rendered you speechless?" she asked in a teasing tone.

Maura giggled and sighed a most contented sigh. She was unable to truly find the right words to describe what she was feeling. So instead, she had a better idea. "Why don't I just show you instead," she said with a seductive smile and before Jane could respond Maura managed to flip their positions so she was now hovering above the detective.

Jane started to snicker again having been taken a bit by surprise by Maura's sudden moves. Not that she was complaining. Who in their right mind would complain about finding themselves underneath the beautiful ME?

Maura leaned down and captured Jane's lips with her own. She started the kiss with a slow, deliberate pace but it quickly grew in want and intensity. She ran her tongue across Jane's bottom lip and entrance was immediately granted. A duel for dominance soon started and Maura seemed unwilling to yield any sort of control to the detective. She had had her turn. Now it was Maura's time to be in control.

She wanted to take her time. To tease Jane as much as Jane teased her. It would serve the woman right. Turnabout was fair play after all. But as it turned out, she just didn't have the patience for a long tease.

Instead, as their lips and tongues still worked against each other in a heated exchange, Maura slid her hand down and she ran her fingers through Jane's center. She felt the heat and wetness waiting for her and it was clear that Jane had worked herself up quite a bit working Maura over.

Jane felt Maura's hand and tried to arch her hips into the touch. She had been afraid Maura would go slowly considering that she had just teased the hell out of the woman but it appeared as if Maura was going to show her some mercy.

Maura stroked Jane's outer lips gently without committing to any more deliberate touches. She broke off the kiss they had been sharing and both ladies struggled a little to catch their breath. She leaned down and decided to play similar attention to Jane's breasts as was paid to her own. She captured a hardened nipple between her teeth and bit down gently.

"Oh God," Jane uttered as soon as Maura bit down. There was a fine line between pain and pleasure and Maura seemed to know exactly how to flirt with that line.

Maura let her tongue circle and sooth Jane's nipple all the while letting her fingers find and slowly circle around Jane's clit. Slow but deliberate circles with just enough pressure to work Jane up into a frenzy.

Labored breath, arching hips and throaty moans all indicated to Maura that Jane wasn't going to last much longer. She had a feeling she could bring Jane to climax just by continuing what she was doing but she wanted to give Jane more. So she rotated her hand and let her thumb continue the circular rotation around Jane's clit and while she let two fingers slowly enter Jane.

"Maur….." Jane gasped feeling Maura enter her.

Maura would have commented but her mouth was still busy working all over Jane's chest. She let that occupy her. She needed to concentrate on creating a rhythm with her fingers and her thumb as that was more difficult than what she thought when she first tried it. It wasn't a perfect ministration but it certainly was working on Jane.

Maura could tell by Jane's breathing she wasn't going to last much longer. She released Jane's breast from her mouth and with the last few strokes she knew she would need to finish off Jane she concentrated on her fingers and curling them inside knowing this would break Jane.

She was right as within a few strokes she felt Jane's inner walls tighten and Jane's breath hitch. Jane noiselessly reached her peak and let the release wash over her. Maura couldn't help but admire Jane's reaction. She found it amazing to watch Jane go from completely worked up and tense to completely relaxed and content in just a matter of moments. Jane didn't experience too many moments of pure bliss but over the last several weeks Maura had been the reason Jane was able to enjoy the few she truly had.

Breathless, Jane attempted to speak but really couldn't.

Maura giggled. "Not as easy when you are on the receiving end, is it detective?" she teased. They both struggled with coherent conversation in moments of post coital bliss.

It took a few moments but Jane could finally reply. "Not when you do that to me, no."

They both shared a small laugh as Jane pulled Maura into her. She just wanted to hold the woman she loved. "I love you," she whispered.

Maura snuggled in close letting her head rest on Jane's shoulder. "No more than I love you," she replied.

They both knew they had things they needed to talk about, especially now, but they knew they had time to just enjoy each other for a little while longer.

The drama that had overtaken their lives could wait. For now, each held onto the woman she loved and that was all they needed for the moment.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jane lay in bed with Maura still resting in her arms. She'd been sleeping for about fifteen minutes. Jane couldn't manage to sleep but hadn't wanted to disturb Maura's nap so she was just trying to relax. She'd been slowly letting her fingers trace up and down the arm Maura had draped over her waist. Maura was a nice distraction from everything else that threatened to swirl through her head.

The last few weeks had been very hard on both her and Maura. Neither liked the idea of having to not only hide the change in their relationship but also lying to their friends and family. They were going to have a lot of explaining to do when all of this was finally settled.

Jane was worried about everything. Worried about Maura and her safety. Worried about making a mistake and making things worse. Worried about that people wouldn't forgive them both later when they could finally tell people the truth. Worried that everything they were trying to do wouldn't work and in the end it would all be for nothing. Just simply worried.

She felt the worst about Maura. The woman had such a hard time with lies. Even small, white lies. But here she was having to be a part of big ones. And Jane knew it was wearing on the ME. She'd been so proud of how Maura had managed so far. She's actually managed better than Jane expected. Maura was getting to the point of not even breaking out in even a few hives anymore.

"I can feel you thinking," mumbled Maura surprising Jane just a bit. She hadn't detected any change in Maura's breathing so she didn't realize the woman was now awake.

Jane chuckled. "Hey sleepy head," she said as she looked down at the beauty in her arms and gently kissed her forehead.

"Sorry," Maura sighed not meaning to have fallen asleep. She tightened her arms around the detective and shifted so she could look at Jane. They had so little time to actually be together she hated that she had wasted some of it asleep. "But I seem to find you extremely comfortable."

"That's certainly not anything you need to apologize for," Jane said with a smile. She'd be Maura's pillow any day. She knew Maura meant she hadn't wanted to waste the time they had on this day but she looked so peaceful in her slumber Jane couldn't hold that against her.

They were both quiet for a moment until Maura spoke. "So," she said. "Gabriel?" she asked not hiding the genuine surprise in her tone. Seeing him had surprised her.

Jane nodded. "I didn't expect it to be him either," Jane admitted but then seemed to realize what Maura had actually said. "Wait…how'd…" Jane started to ask. Given the fact that Maura had attacked her the minute she entered into the hotel room, she hadn't had the chance to even begin to talk to Maura about the most recent developments.

"I ran into him at the cafe," Maura replied. "Quite literally. He asked me to join you two and mentioned some sort of case review."

"How'd you handle that?" Jane asked. She wasn't happy that Maura had any interaction with Dean at all at this point.

"I told him that if you needed anything from the medical examiner's office you knew how to make such a request," Maura answered. "And then I walked away." She was quiet for a moment before continuing. "I believe I handled it right. I would hope anyone who thinks we are fighting would interpret what I said as further evidence that there is a rift between us."

Jane smiled. Maura really was doing so well with all of this. "That was perfect," she said. They had spent a lot of time working on things Maura could say that were technically true but could be interpreted by others as evidence that Jane and Maura's relationship was in trouble. The 'technically true' part was what was saving Maura from hives and vasovagal episodes. Jane did in fact know the correct procedure for requesting assistance from the medical examiner's office.

"Did you ever consider it could be Gabriel?" Maura asked. While they had discussed things at length neither really had an idea who it might turn out to be and Maura was curious if Jane had considered the possibility.

They were waiting for someone from the FBI to come sniffing around the station. Waiting for several weeks now in fact. The last person Jane expected had been Gabriel Dean. She was at a point in all of this where nothing could really surprise her anymore. But she certainly was disappointed to find Dean in Cavanaugh's office that morning. She hadn't pegged Dean to be the type.

"I can't say I actively considered it," Jane answered. "But I wasn't going to rule anyone out."

"What does Cavanaugh say?" Maura asked.

"He wants to see where this leads," Jane said. "We didn't really talk about it today. I didn't want to be away from Dean for too long. I'll spend some time with Sean in the morning to really go over what our strategy should be. Dean will have to be handled just right."

Sean was the only person who was aware of everything that had been happening. They both trusted him and he was willing to help them. Jane's first instinct had been to get Korsak and Frost to help. That had been the original plan until the first of several unexpected incidents seemed to make that an undesirable option.

It wasn't a question of trust with Korsak and Frost. That was never a question. Both Maura and Jane trusted Vince and Barry with their lives. In the end, it simply was because they both cared about the guys too much to involve them. Jane just couldn't put their lives in that kind of danger. She wasn't thrilled about putting Cavanaugh at risk but they needed someone's help and Sean was in a unique position to offer his assistance. Additionally, Jane had convinced Maura that everything would play better if Frost and Korsak were kept in the dark.

"Was he surprised it was Dean?" Maura asked.

"I think so," Jane answered. "Although I think for both of us disappointed is a better word to use than surprised. And his excuse for being here isn't that good either. I was expecting better."

"The cold case review?" Maura asked. Jane nodded. "So you don't think the case file is connected to anything?"

"I wouldn't have pursued it," Jane pointed out. "There are too many dissimilarities. I certainly wouldn't have found it necessary to send a federal agent to check the files. A courtesy phone call maybe but not an agent. He's really stretching."

"Doesn't he realize that you will dismiss this case review rather quickly?" Maura asked.

"I doubt he's thought that far ahead," Jane answered. "My guess right now is that he jumped on the first chance he could find to get himself into our station and interacting with us. There just aren't that many legitimate opportunities for the feds to come sniffing around. This case review is just his way in."

Maura shifted a little in Jane's arms finding that she wanted to be even closer to the detective. She loved just feeling her body pressed against Jane's. There was just something so comforting about having the detective so close. "So what happens now?"

"Like Cavanaugh said we see where this takes us," Jane said. They didn't have a set plan when this whole thing started. In part because they didn't quite understand all the variables in the beginning. In part because they weren't sure who the agent was going to be. In part because they weren't even sure which one the agent would approach. They all had agreed to finalize their plan after they had a better idea of who was approached and who the agent was. Jane had a feeling that they would be able to develop a concrete plan within the next day or two.

"Jane…." Maura said cautiously.

Jane sighed and shifted in bed. While she loved having Maura snuggled into her she needed better eye contact to continue this conversation. So she turned onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow. Maura mimicked Jane's new position allowing them both to be face to face. They kept their legs intertwined underneath the bed sheets not wanting to end all physical contact.

"Now I take advantage of the fact that it's Dean," Jane said. She knew Maura would not like this but it really was to their advantage that Jane had some history with the agent. He was interested in her. Very interested from what Jane could tell. She had the edge between the two of them.

Maura frowned. She didn't like what she knew Jane was thinking. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Jane locked eyes with Maura. "Hey," she said reaching up and gently brushing her finger against Maura's cheek. "I love you. You don't have to be worried about it being Dean. I don't want him. I want you. I will only ever want you. But he likes me and I can use that against him. I'm just going to need you to trust me."

"I do trust you," Maura answered softy but emphatically. "This is already so complicated and dangerous. I'm not sure if I like the idea of your body now becoming potential bait."

"It won't come to that," Jane tried to reassure Maura. "I won't let it go that far but I can't ignore the fact that I know he likes me. I can and will use that especially if I think it will bring all of this mess to an end faster and it keeps you safe."

"My safety won't matter to me if it comes at the expense of yours," Maura stated. "I love you too Jane and as much as I believe you won't let anything happen to me you'd better understand that I'm not going to let anything happen to you either. We are in this together."

They let a moment of silence wash over them. Even though it was clouded by their current situation, there was something incredibly comforting within their mutual declaration of love for each other. It wasn't the first time they had proclaimed their love for each other. That had happened a few weeks ago after they were both finally willing to admit that their relationship was something beyond friendship and absolutely more than simply casual.

It hadn't taken them long to get there once things had progressed past friendship. They both had been harboring feelings for the other for some time. Both generally aware of how they felt but neither believing anything was to come of it so both just pushed the notion of 'something more' out of their minds. They were great as best friends and both were fine with that being the extent of their relationship.

Until.

Their first breach into that great unknown was the night Doyle kidnapped Maura. Jane had never been more afraid of losing anyone in her entire life. Knowing Maura was missing and having no idea where she was or if she was hurt was enough to send Jane into a panic she had never felt before. Normally Jane faced adversity and danger with a calm confidence even the most tenured officer envied.

But this was Maura. Her best friend and outside of her family the single most important person in her life. When she got that call and heard Maura's voice on the other end she knew it was a sound she simply could not live without. As she rushed to get to Maura, knowing she needed to see for herself that Maura was in fact alright and uninjured, Jane decided then and there that she wasn't going to lose another second of time she felt like she had just been given back. She had feelings for Maura and she was determined to at least tell that to the ME.

She'd never made the drive home as quickly as she did that night. Lights and siren blaring and not giving a damn as to how many traffic lights she blew or how close she came to causing an accident. It was both the quickest and longest drive of her life.

She took the stairs to her apartment three at a time and didn't even bother trying to find her keys. She knew Maura would have the door unlocked just as she knew she would find the ME sitting on her couch just awaiting Jane's arrival. She wouldn't be disappointed.

The minute she threw her apartment door open she eyes locked on the ME and she paused only long enough to make sure there was no visible wounds. That took a microsecond. And then she had Maura up from the couch and in her arms where she just knew the woman belonged for the rest of her life.

The embrace was almost bone crushing for them both but neither seemed willing to loosen up or relax. Not right away. Both needed to make sure it was real. That Maura alright and had been returned to Jane unharmed. Tactical sensations seemed to be the only method of proof either had any faith in. Maura's voice on the phone hadn't been enough. But Maura in her arms. That had done it.

Jane had planned on just proclaiming her love. She promised herself on the drive over that if Maura was in fact alright and didn't need a hospital or a doctor or an ambulance she would tell her she wanted more. That she wanted her. That she wanted it all and wasn't going to waste another moment being stupid.

So, after Maura stopped shaking…or maybe it was her who was shaking…but regardless as soon as the shaking stopped Jane relaxed her embrace and looked right into Maura's eyes ready to tell her beautiful ME how she felt.

But no words actually happened. Before Jane could speak. Before she could even open her mouth to try, Maura's lips had come crashing up against hers. And she was lost.

Lost in the sensation of having Maura that close. Lost in the jolt of electricity that seemed to course through her body seemingly originating from any place Maura came into contact with her. Lost in the softness of lips she instantly knew she would never tire of enjoying. Lost in the absolute perfection of the moment.

It was suddenly clear no words were needed. They let their lips and hands do their talking. Their first time together was both a frenzy and a slow, drawn out night of passion. Frenzied in the beginning. They practically tore the other's clothes off. Most of the garments didn't survive to be worn again. And the frenzy didn't stop until they had brought each other to a simultaneous climax. One more powerful than either had ever experienced with any other person.

But after that first frenzied release, they both slowed down and began to savor each other and their time together. They took turns exploring every inch of skin they could caress or kiss or lick or nibble. They memorized details about the gorgeous body beneath them both wanting to learn what the other reacted to or didn't. They treated each other like a puzzle that absolutely needed to be solved but with an understanding that they had all the time in the world to find that solution.

It had been the first time Jane had ever spent an entire night making love to someone. Her previous encounters could all generally be classified as 'one and dones' with the done usually describing the man who tended to fall asleep immediately after regardless of whether she experienced any level of release. Their first time together was also when Jane first discovered she was capable of multiple orgasms and when she understood that she wouldn't have wanted to experience that capability with another soul other than Maura.

The night had been pure magic.

So had the following morning. Jane had no idea when she had finally succumbed to sleep. She knew the sun was coming up as her bedroom was getting lighter and lighter. She remembered thinking Maura looked better and better as more sunlight streamed into what had been darkness. She wasn't even sure who had fallen asleep first. But she knew she was the first to wake up.

She woke up with Maura literally stretched across her. A naked Maura was a sight to behold in the morning. What mattered most to Jane was that she didn't feel anything but this incredible sense of fulfillment and completeness. No regret. No doubt. No shame. Just happiness. And desire to take the woman stretched out across her all over again.

Thankfully, Maura had felt the same when she finally stirred. Both in regards to the happiness she felt when her eyes first met Jane's and her desire to have another go at the detective. It became clear that there was nothing about the night before that Maura regretted. There was nothing but calmness, joy and desire reflecting in Maura's eyes. The two quickly gave into those desires once more turning their first morning after into something as memorable as the night before.

It wasn't until they both managed to recover from that first morning after that they took some time to talk about what it was they wanted from each other. But even after what had been the best night, and morning, of sex either had ever experienced, both seemed just a little hesitant to admit that they wanted it all. The relationship, the exclusivity, the commitment. Instead, they both tentatively agreed to keep things 'casual' to start and just see where it took them.

Perhaps it was fear of losing a needed friendship if for some reason more just didn't work out. Perhaps it was just uncertainty of what a change like that could really mean for themselves and each other. But neither seemed willing to label what was happening between them although each desperately wanted more. Each actually wanted it all.

They agreed quickly that until they knew what was truly happening between them it was unwise to tell the others what had occurred. Neither was extremely worried about whether they would be accepted or not. It wasn't that. It had a lot more to do with the fact that things were so fresh, and new, and clearly undefined that they weren't in any hurry to invite well intentioned, but unsolicited input from the others into their situation.

The idea of keeping things to themselves appealed to them both. There didn't seem to be any harm in letting whatever was meant to come of what they were exploring simply just happen on its own without the influence or meddling of others. When Maura finally left Jane's apartment that morning, both were optimistic about what the future held for them and both seemed perfectly content with slowly evolving the nature of their relationship.

That slow evolution, that apparent agreement not to rush things and to just see what was to come, that lasted less than 24 hours. 9 hours and 13 minutes to be exact. It lasted that long only because that was how long it took before Jane and Maura could find themselves away from the station and alone for the first time since their first morning after.

Jane had followed Maura home after work. A typical endeavor between the two ladies. They usually did dinner together whenever they both managed to finish their shifts around the same time.

The time it took for the two to find themselves pressed against each other frantically working to rid the other of any and all clothing equated to roughly the amount of time it took Jane to park her car, enter Maura's house through the side door and close that door behind her. She hadn't even had a chance to lock the door before Maura had her pinned up against it letting her lips do all her communicating for her.

They left a trail of discarded wardrobe all the way up to the master bedroom where both were to discover that their ability to go all night wasn't some fluke. Their second night was just as full of frenzy and passion as their first. It was a second night of magic and it would be enough to convince them both that their second morning after would contain no more attempts to entertain the notion of casual. By morning they were together. In every sense of the word and they both seemed to know that it was meant to be forever.

"So this is really happening," Maura said pulling Jane out of her deep thoughts.

Jane shifted on the bed again this time pulling Maura into her and holding her as close as she possibly could. "Yes," she answered back. "It really is."

"I need to know our plan," Maura admitted. She hated unknowns. She felt she would be able to deal with what was to come better if she at least had some idea of strategy.

"Tomorrow I will get a better idea of exactly what type of game Dean is trying to play," Jane said as she tried to comfort Maura as best she could. "Then I promise you we will get with Sean and together the three of us will figure out what needs to get done."

"I want this all to be done and over with," Maura stated as she attempted to snuggle further into Jane.

"So do I," Jane admitted. "The sooner this can all be settled the sooner you and I can start our life together."

In the end, that was all the two of them wanted. They wanted to be able to officially start their happily ever after.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Like they had on so many previous encounters, Jane and Maura stayed in bed holding each other until they absolutely needed to separate. No matter how long the two could manage to find to spend together, it never felt like enough. They both longed for the day they would no longer need to hide their relationship from others.

"So," Maura asked as the two began the process of sorting out the pile of discarded clothes that had gathered in the hotel room entryway. "Gabriel's coming back in tomorrow at 9?"

Jane nodded as she slipped her sports bra over her head. "Yes. I'll head in earlier to spend a little time talking with Cavanaugh. He thought maybe he would be hearing from his computer expert tonight. He thinks we may be able to pull something off if the opportunity arises."

"Do you think you two will end up down in the lab sometime tomorrow?" She was curious on how quickly Gabriel might try to get the two women together. He'd already mentioned it to Maura within 30 seconds of greeting her yesterday.

"He's going to try," Jane replied with confidence. She had no doubt he would try to arrange some sort of interaction between the two knowing he would want to see for himself if there really was a rift between the two. She knew he would want to confirm that for himself before he really made an effort to exploit that rift.

Maura sighed. It was hard enough on her to have to act like there was a problem between them around her friends and people she considered family. But knowing she was going to have to pull off such a convincing ruse in front of Gabriel when the pressure was going to be at its highest wasn't anything the ME was looking forward to.

Jane heard the sigh and sensed Maura's tension. "Hey," she reached out and pulled Maura into an embrace. "You are ready for this. You've been doing so great. I have faith in you." Which she did. She knew that Maura could handle all of this. She just wished they didn't have to. After a moment she spoke again. "I'll do what I can to keep it from happening tomorrow. My avoidance of you and the lab will help play into the tension that is supposed to exist between the two of us. I don't want to give into him or any test he may have too soon."

"I know what to do if you do end up coming down," Maura said. "I'll do my best to try to pull it off."

Jane pulled back from their embrace and captured Maura's lips in a long, passionate kiss they allowed to last until the need for oxygen became a factor. "Maur," Jane said after she had a moment to catch her breath. "Your best has always, always been more than enough."

"I love you," she replied with a smile that melted Jane's heart.

Jane smiled back and gave the only response needed, "I love you too."

They kissed one last time on the night. They both poured themselves into the kiss knowing it could be a few days before they may be able to meet again. Neither would admit to that but they both were aware that with Agent Dean in town they had to take even more care not to be discovered.

They were both breathless when the kiss finally ended. Jane rested her forehead against Maura's regretting what she was going to say next. "You go first," she said. It meant an end to their time together since they wouldn't even be able to leave the room together.

Maura didn't even try to hide the sadness etched on her face. She knew she had to leave but it was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. They stared into each other's eyes as their foreheads rested together but finally Maura took a step back and turned to exit the room.

She got to the door before Jane called out, "Keep the burner cell on you tomorrow. I'll give you as much of a heads up if we are coming down as I can."

Maura nodded but didn't turn around. She knew if she did she wouldn't want to actually leave the room and she did have to go. As she opened the hotel room door and stepped into the hallway she said went had become a staple in their conversation as of late. "Forever and always."

"Always and forever," Jane repeated back loud enough for only Maura to hear and with that the door to the hotel room closed.

R&I

Jane sighed and proceeded to sit down on the bed. She would give Maura at least a fifteen minute head start before she would head out. She knew that would be plenty of time for Maura to have gotten a cab downstairs so she could start her zig zagged journey back to her Beacon Hill home.

As she sat there she couldn't help but think about everything that had occurred to get the two to the point where their only time to be together had to be clandestine rendezvouses that seemed to take on the feel of some cheesy spy novel. Sometimes even Jane couldn't really believe the level of cloak and dagger she'd experienced over the last few weeks.

Jane and Maura had been allowed to live in their little bubble where the only thing that mattered to them at all was their newfound relationship for all of about two days. Two days before the reality of their lives came crashing down around them. That's all it took for them to realize that dealing with the discovery that Maura was Patrick Doyle's daughter was going to be anything but easy.

Everything had started with the death of Colin Doyle. Or more accurately, all of the current drama for Jane and Maura started with the discovery that Maura was the biological daughter of Patrick Doyle. And that discovery would never have been made by Maura and the crime lab had they not been investigating the death of Colin Doyle.

First came the realization that their murder victim was related to Maura. A half-brother. She shared a biological father with a victim on her table. A cruel irony for Maura. To finally find someone she had a genetic connection with only to find that she was unable to interact with, talk to or get to know that someone.

Then Jane was able to make an arrest of a computer hacker named Drew Beckett while investigating their case. She was pretty sure Beckett wasn't their killer but she was also pretty sure Beckett knew who their John Doe really was. With the lab contacting Maura about what they suspected was cross contamination on the blood samples, her half-brother's DNA profile was not currently running through CODIS so Jane felt Beckett was her best way of identifying the body in the morgue.

She got excited when Frost revealed that he might be able to decrypt their John Doe's true identification from Beckett's identity skimmer. She had promised Maura she would find out who killed her brother and she hoped if she could figure out who he really was not only could she find out what happened to him she might be able to offer Maura at least a little bit of personal history. Perhaps they'd get lucky and get an idea of who Maura's biological father was.

Jane's desire to help Maura find her biological father changed when Frost said the name Colin Doyle.

At first, the name didn't mean anything to Jane. But then Korsak said Patrick Doyle and the realization of not only who Colin Doyle was but what it meant for Maura hit Jane like a ton of bricks. She almost slipped and said something to Frost and Korsak but this hadn't been her information to share. It was for Maura to decide who, if anyone, she would tell. All she knew was that she desperately needed to tell Maura what she had just discovered.

She missed Patrick Doyle's presence in the morgue by less than two minutes. Had she not stopped to pull a file on Doyle she was going to show Maura, Jane would have come face to face with the wanted Mob boss. Instead, she found Maura standing in the lab, staring at Colin's body and holding a bloodied handkerchief in her hand.

It took a few moments for Jane to even get through to Maura as she found the ME lost deep in thought as she approached her. A brief explanation from Maura that she had just encountered someone she believed was her biological father and an indication that the blood on the handkerchief was his was all it took for Jane to whisk Maura away from the station so they could talk about what they now both knew.

Jane could still remember how devastated and lost Maura looked when she let the knowledge of her true paternity sink in. Jane had wanted to do nothing but pull the woman into her arms and hold her until she no longer needed to be held. But she had resisted the urge and had let Maura start to work through the situation in her own way.

Away from the station, Jane let Maura start to talk through everything that was running through her head. She knew Maura well enough to know that this was how Maura would process the shock. Logical thinking. Scientific rationale. Simple, and yet complicated, reasoning. Jane couldn't offer much more than her love, her understanding and a sympathetic ear but everything she had she would give to the ME.

It was during that conversation that Jane urged Maura to hide the discovery of her paternity and her connection to Colin. The information was in no way germane to the investigation into Colin Doyle's death and Jane immediately understood the danger Maura would be in if anyone was to ever find out she was related to Doyle. Maura was absolutely against altering any evidence or reports. It went against everything she stood for. But Jane was insistent in a way Maura had never seen before.

Jane had let the news about Doyle's connection to Maura really sink in with her and she seemed to understand something that Maura didn't consider. She was already handling the investigation of the murder of one of Doyle's children. And she was fully aware of the fact that Colin was most likely targeted because he was Doyle's son. She wasn't about to let Maura suffer the same fate. It was why she strongly urged Maura to eliminate the information that she was Doyle's biological daughter.

"_Maura, listen to me," Jane implored. "You are in danger."_

"_I'm not in danger Jane," Maura tried to convince the worried detective that she was going to be ok. The photos Doyle had shown her, they somehow convinced her that he wouldn't hurt her._

"_Whoever killed Colin won't hesitate to kill you if they figure out who you are," Jane explained. At the moment she wasn't worried about what Doyle could do to Maura. She was worried Maura would end up exactly like her half-brother._

As far as Jane was concerned, it should have been so simple. Maura would acknowledge the cross contamination of Colin's original blood test to the lab. She would then handle the blood analysis of another sample from Colin herself just as a precaution. No one would question the Chief Medical Examiner wanting to handle the routine tests of a sample that had already been tainted once prior. That was actually standard operating procedure for the lab.

She would run Colin's profile directly against the blood sample given to her by Doyle. This would avoid the need to run Colin's DNA profile through CODIS as they now had a direct sample to do a comparison. She would also run Doyle's voluntary sample through BPD files knowing his DNA profile was on file and that too would produce a match to Doyle and confirm Patrick Doyle's, and by extension, Colin Doyle's identity. Nothing about having Maura handle the evidence in such a manner would hurt the murder investigation nor would there be any issues with using the test results in a court of law.

It really should have been that simple. A way to identify their victim, tie him to a known Irish mob boss, continue their investigation into who actually murdered Colin and it would leave Jane and Maura as the only two people who would know that Maura was related to Patrick Doyle. If her paternity never come to light, Jane was certain Maura would be out of harm's way and that she would be safe.

Jane thought that the plan was the best available solution. A way to protect Maura by keeping her connection to Doyle a secret. A way to continue her investigation into Colin's death with evidence to justify looking into mob involvement. A way out of an extremely tricky situation. She just had no idea how wrong she was about to be and just how much trouble those lab tests were about to cause.

R&I

The day Maura resubmitted the labs for Colin and submitted the DNA analysis of the bloody handkerchief as 'John Doe #2' for the comparison was the night Doyle's men kidnapped Maura from the morgue. Two days later Jane and Maura were called into Cavanaugh's office and everything changed.

"_Rizzoli," Cavanaugh called out from his office as he noticed the two people he needed to speak with were together out by Jane's desk. "I need to speak with both you and Dr. Isles."_

_Jane looked at Maura and panicked slightly. Had Cavanaugh figured out that they were exploring their relationship? Would it even matter? There were no rules that prohibited Jane and Maura's relationship that they were aware of. After a moment spent staring at each other each trying to figure out if the other understood what the lieutenant wanted, both women slowly made their way into his office._

_Their foreboding only heightened when the first thing he said to them was "Shut the door and sit down."_

_Jane shut Cavanaugh's office door and then took a seat next to Maura. She had to resist the urge to reach out and grab Maura's hand. Their new relationship status was not common knowledge so hand holding in her boss' office was probably not the best idea in that moment._

_The three sat in silence for what felt, at least to Jane, like forever. Finally Cavanaugh was the first to speak. "Is there something you two wish to share with me?" he asked._

_Again, Jane and Maura locked eyes on each other both trying to figure out how he had found out so quickly. It had been less than two days. How could they be so bad at hiding their feelings for each other that in less than two days Jane's boss already had them in the office to question them about their relationship and offer up what Jane expected to be a lecture about professionalism at crime scenes and at the station?_

"_Sir?" Jane asked with a little fake confusion. She knew Maura was in no position to offer up any answer to his question if they wanted to still keep things quiet._

"_I'm just wondering when you two thought it would be a good idea to inform me that there was issue with your victim's initial blood tests. An issue big enough to not only delete the files but have the Chief Medical Examiner re-run tests on a second sample?"_

_Both let out a sigh of relief when they realized Cavanaugh hadn't called them into the office to discuss their personal relationship. But Maura began to immediately panic at the notion of having to explain why she deleted test results from the system and reran them. Just the thought of having to explain what was going on had started a small break out of hives for the ME._

_Again, Jane stepped in trying to rescue Maura. "There was an issue with the first sample," Jane said calmly. "The sample appeared to be cross contaminated and I requested that Dr. Isles redo the DNA profile in order to obtain more accurate results."_

_Cavanaugh stared at both the women in front of him. Both were strong willed and confident women but Sean immediately knew there was something more to the story. Dr. Isles looked extremely uncomfortable in her chair and Rizzoli looked over confident in hers. He knew that look. He'd had it across his face many times in his life. He got it every time he was trying to hide something._

"_Bullshit," he said matter of factly. If they were going to lie they both were going to have to come up with something better than a contaminated sample._

_Maura turned a bit pale but Jane stood her ground. "Sir," she thought perhaps she could change tactics. "Can I ask how you were even aware that there was a second test run on my victim's blood?" Maura deleted the first set of results and there shouldn't have been any way for Cavanaugh to have even known more tests were being run. Unless a lab tech had mentioned something to him but Jane knew all the lab techs made it a point to avoid conversations with the Lieutenant._

_Sean looked between the two women again and had wished they would just come clean with him. But perhaps he would have reacted this way if it had been him in his younger days. _

"_There's been an attempted security breach into the BPD computer system," Sean told the two in front of him. "While the attempt was ultimately a failure, our IT department was alerted to the effort. It appears that whoever was trying to get into our system was trying to gain access to your case files," he said looking at Jane, 'and your lab database," he finished looking at Maura._

_Both women were stunned into silence. Jane knew in an instant that one of the mob families had to be behind the attempted hacking. Only, she had no idea if it was Doyle looking for information on his son's murder or one of the other families looking for information about Doyle. And information about Doyle could lead them to information about Maura._

"_The attempt was unsuccessful?" Jane asked in a sudden panic._

_Cavanaugh nodded, "They got into our system but we have a multi-tiered security structure on our networks. They breached the first tier and almost the second tier before their activity was detected and they were forced out of the system."_

"_What did they find?" Jane asked more as a demand for information than as a question of curiosity. _

_Sean didn't miss the change in either woman's demeanor. Jane had moved immediately into protective cop mode confirming for him that there was in fact something that they were hiding. Plus the normally vocal ME was noticeably quiet also indicating to Sean that she knew what the hacker was looking for as well._

"_Like I said," he started. "They were straight to your case files and after that they tried to gain access into the ME database records before they were stopped. Our IT guys ran a history of what you both have done in the last 48 hours and they came across the deletion of the DNA results for your victim."_

"_Just the deletion or the original results?" Maura asked. It was an answer she needed to know._

_Sean shook his head. "We were not able to retrieve the actual results you had delete and neither was the hacker." He looked at both women again and decided to try again. "Again, would you two care to explain to me what's going on here?" Before Jane could offer another non answer he added, "Don't make me ask about that DNA analysis for a 'John Doe #2' Dr. Isles also ran." He looked directly at Maura when he asked this._

_Jane started to answer but stopped when Maura reached out her hand and placed it on Jane's arm to stop her. The move shut Jane up immediately._

"_Lieutenant," Maura started, "Those tests were deleted to try to protect me."_

_Cavanaugh leaned back into his chair. Finally he was going to get some answers. "Dr. Isles," he started. "Everyone is human. If there was some sort of error in your collection of evidence you don't have to try to hide it. Just come talk to us and we will fully document it. That documentation will stand up to any court challenges."_

_Jane dropped her eyes and Maura shook her head. "You don't understand," she tried to explain. "There wasn't an issue with collection of the samples, the processing of those samples or even the authenticity of the results."_

_Sean was now confused. "You're right. I don't understand." What then were they trying to hide?_

"_The labs were deleted to try to hide what the results showed," she answered._

_Sean looked at Jane now unsure if he was being told that they were deliberately tampering with an active homicide investigation._

_Jane knew that's exactly what he was thinking. "It didn't have anything to do with the actual case," she answered his unasked question._

"_Then what the hell is going on?" he demanded._

"_The test results show that the victim is," Maura paused, "was my half-brother."_

_That was the last thing Cavanaugh was expecting to hear. He didn't have a response._

_Jane finished the picture knowing they needed to tell Sean the entire truth. "The 'John Doe #2' sample Maura submitted was from the victim's father. Maura's biological father." Not knowing if she should fill in the last blank Jane turned to Maura looking to see what she wanted to do._

"_The DNA sample will show that the victim's father is Patrick Doyle," Maura attempted to state with as little emotion as possible._

"_Holy shit!" was the only reaction Cavanaugh could admit._

R&I

Jane entered her apartment and was immediately greeted by Jo. She bent down to let the dog jump into her lap and get her excited greeting out of the way. She knew the dog needed to go out before she could call it a night. She stood up and went into her bedroom to grab the leash. While in the bedroom she quickly opened up her gun safe and removed an item. She then headed into the living room only to find Jo was at the front door knowing it was time for her nightly walk.

"Come on," Jane said with a smile after clipping on the leash. "We'll even take a walk tonight." Jo's tail wagged empathetically when she heard the word 'walk'.

Jane waited until she was at least two blocks away from her apartment before she took out the phone and dialed the only number stored into it. She listened to the phone ring and knew it would only ring once. It didn't matter the time. It always only rang once.

"I take it there's been a development," came the voice on the phone. Jane hadn't expected any sort of greeting. This wasn't a social call.

"We need to meet," Jane replied.

"When?" the voice replied.

"5 am," Jane replied. "You know the place."

"5 am," the man confirmed and disconnected the call.

She continued her walk with Jo. She hoped the night air would help clear her mind. She doubted that anything would manage that but it couldn't hurt. She still marveled at direction her life had turned over the last few weeks. Secret liaisons with the woman she loved at night and even more secretive meetings with an Irish mob boss in the wee hours of the mornings.

The things you do for love.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jane would have a hard time explaining to people what she was doing in an underground parking garage in South Boston at 5 am. Had she not lived through the last few weeks, she would have found it hard to understand this set of circumstances herself. But she was here and she was here for the sake of the woman she loved.

Only Maura's safety could convince Jane to form an uneasy alliance with a wanted criminal. The Irish mob boss and the Boston homicide detective working not necessarily together more like working in conjunction towards a common goal. Each trying to keep a woman they both claimed to love safe from harm.

As on edge as she was that morning, it was nothing compared to the first time she had arranged to meet the mafia kingpin.

_Jane paced back and forth in front of her car trying desperately to convince herself that this wasn't the absolute dumbest thing she'd ever agreed to in her life. She was having that internal debate with herself and she was definitely losing. After what felt like an eternity, Jane finally both heard and saw a vehicle approaching. Instinctively her left hand rested on her gun._

_The Cadillac Escalade pulled up to where Jane had parked but stopped about 100 feet from her vehicle. All the windows were tinted and she had no eyes on the inside activity of the vehicle. That alone was against every ounce of her training. She felt her hand tighten around her gun as she tried to prepare herself for just about anything._

_Finally the driver's side passenger door opened and one of Doyle's men exited the vehicle. Jane's nerves were not pacified when she saw the semi-automatic weapon that exited the vehicle with him. In a flash her gun was drawn and she had it aimed at the man with his own weapon._

"_You're armed," the voice of Patrick Doyle resonated from inside the Escalade. It wasn't a question. It was more a statement._

"_I'm meeting an Irish mobster in an underground parking garage in South Boston at 5 am. Alone. Of course I'm armed. I'm crazy. Not stupid," Jane said loud enough for Doyle to hear her. She never lowered her gun and it stayed trained on the one weapon she had eyes on. She knew there were others. She was extremely outgunned but she could only focus on what she could see in that moment._

_A moment later Doyle stepped from the vehicle and took in the scene. His bodyguard with a semi-automatic rifle. The detective with a Glock 19. It wouldn't even be a close fight. He looked at the woman in front of him and he had to admit she had balls._

_Doyle nodded to his bodyguard who lowered his rifle. Jane didn't lower her Glock. Doyle reflected on that for a moment as well and finally nodded once more to the bodyguard who disappeared back into the Escalade without a word of protest. Jane didn't lower her gun until the Escalade's door was shut._

_The two stood and stared each other down for a few moments. One a hardened criminal. One a decorated officer. They were on extreme opposite ends of the spectrum of life. But they had a surprising common ground. They both loved the same woman._

"_I wasn't expecting you to be the one to use that phone," Doyle admitted._

"_Maura said you had pictures of her from her life," Jane stated pointedly and Doyle nodded. "Then you should at least know something about her. You should have known she would never call you."_

_Doyle considered this and wasn't in a position to argue the point. He was sure Maura wouldn't ever call him. Part of him had given her that phone not for the purposes of getting information about Colin but more to feel as if he had some tangible connection to his only surviving child. There was a small hope that someday she would want to use the phone to speak with him._

"_Perhaps," he admitted. "But even so I would never have believed you would use it," he said. He was fully aware of who Jane Rizzoli was. The minute Maura became friends with the homicide detective Doyle had made it a point to learn absolutely everything there was to know about the woman. Her voice on the line when it rang had more than piqued his curiosity._

"_There's something I need to know," Jane replied. "Maura's safety may depend on the answer."_

_That really piqued Doyle's interest. What he did know about the detective included her protective instincts and nature. Especially for those she cared about and he was well aware of the friendship the two women shared. He even knew the detective was his daughter first 'true' friend. He was indebted to the detective although he would never tell her that. She had given his daughter her first real sense of belonging and family._

"_Ask," was all he said._

"_Are you behind the attempt to hack into the BPD servers to gain access to the ME's database?" Jane desperately wanted the answer to be 'yes'. A yes meant no one else was trying to pull forensic reports and blood samples. A yes meant Doyle was simply fishing for information on the investigation to feed his quest for revenge. A yes meant Maura was safe._

"_No," he answered. _

_And Jane believed him. "Shit."_

"_What's happening?" he asked knowing the detective really wouldn't have arranged a meeting if it hadn't been critically important._

"_She ran Colin's blood," Jane answered._

"_And?" he asked._

"_She ran your blood too," Jane replied._

"_And?" Doyle asked again not yet drawing the connection. He had deliberately cut himself in order for Maura to be able to see for herself his was her father._

"_As the Chief Medical Examiner her blood profile is on file," Jane finished knowing that Doyle was about to figure out what the problem was._

_Patrick turned about two shades paler when it hit him. The blood profiles. The link between himself, his son and his daughter. "Oh God," he exclaimed._

"_I'm going to ask you again," Jane said calmly. "Were you behind the attempted hacking into the BPD servers?" She knew he wasn't going to change his answer. She had actually believed him the first time._

"_No," he said with more emphasis this time._

"_Then we have a very serious problem," Jane said._

"_Did they get in?" Doyle asked._

"_No," Jane answered. "But I think we both know they are going to try again."_

"_Who is it?" Doyle asked._

"_I don't know," Jane answered honestly. She knew, however, that if she had known that answer she wouldn't have told him. "Do you have any idea at all whose trying to make a move on you?" Someone killed his son. That signaled to Jane that one of the families was trying to make a move._

"_No one is claiming credit yet," Doyle admitted. He was still completely in the dark on who killed his son. "I need to know what you know," he added._

"_No," Jane said flatly. She wasn't going to share information with him about the investigation into Colin's death._

"_Jane," he said surprising her by using her first name, "I'm in a better position to deal with this and you know it."_

_They both knew what he was implying. That handling the threat to his family outside the boundaries of the law was the best solution. Only Jane didn't agree with him._

"_That won't help Maura," Jane said._

"_It will send a message," Doyle pointed out._

_Jane shook her head. How could he not see the bigger picture? "You just don't get it do you?" she asked incredulously._

"_I can send a message not to go near my family," Doyle repeated as if Jane hadn't been following along._

"_And that's exactly the problem," Jane pointed out. _

_Doyle just looked at her and clearly wasn't following her._

"_Murdering Colin's killer protects Maura if, and only if, the parties in your world know who Maura really is," Jane said. Judging by the look on Doyle's face Jane knew he still didn't see the problem. "You said you kept tabs on her over the years, correct?"_

_He wasn't sure about the sudden change of subject but it threw him enough to answer. "Yes. I've always followed her life."_

"_And Maura said you won't tell her about her mother because you are trying to protect that woman as well, correct?" _

_Again, Doyle replied trying to follow the detective's reasoning. "She deserves to have a life without fear and danger," he said._

"_For all these years. For Maura's entire life. How have you kept her safe?" Jane asked._

"_By watching over her," he said instinctively._

"_And?" Jane pushed._

_Suddenly it dawned on the mobster. "By ensuring no one knew about her."_

_Jane knew he saw the fallacy of his thinking now. "No one can ever know who she is to you. So that 'message' you want to send so desperately, if we need it sent we are already too late."_

_Jane let him really absorb what she knew he just realized. "Your message may work in the short term," Jane admitted. Death had a funny way of making people re-evaluate some of their decisions. "But it will kill your daughter in the long run."_

"_But," Doyle started only to have Jane cut him off._

"_Someday someone will wake up one morning and decide to challenge your power. Perhaps it will be someone whose thirst for revenge outweighs his notion of self-preservation. Perhaps it will be someone who believes his power base is simply stronger than yours and decides it's worth the risk. Or perhaps it will be some young, ambitious up and comer in a family looking to make a name for himself. No matter the person. No matter the reason. Maura will have a target on her for the rest of her life if it ever comes to light that she is your daughter. She won't ever be safe no matter how much we both desperately want her to be."_

_In that moment Doyle knew that what he had relied upon his entire life. What had given him the power he held onto so firmly. What had separated him from others who were unable to sustain a long tenure at the top of a corrupt and violent world. He knew it would fail him for the first time and at the worst possible moment._

_His reliance on his willingness and ability to take the life of another human being would never be enough to keep his daughter safe. And for the first time in his life, Patrick Doyle felt completely helpless._

"_What do you need?" he finally asked after a few moments of silence._

"_Information," Jane said. They needed to figure out who was behind Colin's murder. Common sense dictated that whoever killed Colin was also trying to learn what they could about him, the investigation and any forensic evidence connected to the case._

"_An attempted computer hacking?" Doyle asked as he hadn't really given that piece of information much thought to that point._

"_Someone breached our servers but didn't get what they were looking for," Jane confirmed._

"_You need to start with Drew Beckett," Doyle said. Beckett very well could be the key to it all._

_Jane was quiet for a minute. "If that's the case, then you need to call off the hit." That comment was followed by silence. The fact that Doyle didn't even bother to deny what had been Jane's assumption confirmed to Jane that she was correct._

_Drew Beckett had been Colin's friend and partner. He sold that friendship for $250,000. The day Jane tried to get Beckett to tell her who paid him that money he foolishly stated he felt safer being quiet and alive in prison than labeled a snitched and left for dead. Jane hadn't had the time to really push him and point out that Patrick Doyle's reach definitely extended into any jail or prison in Massachusetts. Beckett was a nonviolent, white collar offender who was destined for general population. He was a sitting duck for anyone wanting to claim Doyle's bounty._

_If Beckett had information that could help Jane figure out either who killed Colin or who was still trying to access information about Doyle, and unbeknownst to them Maura, Jane needed the young computer genius to stay alive long enough to tell her what she needed to know._

_Doyle merely nodded his apparent agreement to call off whatever he was working to arrange for the unsuspecting computer whiz. "What else?"_

_Jane had gotten the main thing she came for that morning. She needed to know if it had been Doyle trying to get into the servers. Knowing that she secured Beckett's temporary safety also helped her cause. There remained only one last thing Jane needed from Doyle. One last understanding._

"_Answer when I call," she said._

_They both knew that until this was over. Until Maura was safe. Like it or not, they needed each other._

_Again, Doyle simple nodded._

_And just like that, their time with each other was done. Doyle made his way back to the Escalade and opened the car door. Before getting in he turned and looked at the detective. There was something he needed to know._

"_Why are you willing to involve me?" he asked. He suspected he knew the answer but curiosity was getting the better of him._

"_Because I love her," she answered plainly. _

_Jane missed the smile that washed over Doyle's face as he climbed in and the car door closed._

R&I

Jane really had seriously considered taking Patrick Doyle up on his offer to handle the person identified as Colin's killer himself. It had been before Cavanaugh had told them about the attempted hacking. Before Jane completely pieced together what the link Maura had to Doyle spelled out a lifetime of fear and uncertainty.

That's how worried she was about Maura's safety. She truly considered it. When Maura had, for the first time, pulled out the burner cell phone that was a direct line to Doyle and explained that he wanted Maura to tip him off on the investigation, Jane was tempted. For the first time in her life she was tempted to violate her oath as a law enforcement officer and contribute as an accessory to a crime.

In the end, Jane just couldn't do it. Not even for Maura. And quite frankly that was because of Maura that Jane couldn't do it. She knew crossing that line would be enough to cost her the very things she was trying to protect. She knew that if used Doyle as an option it would change the way Maura viewed her. She would cease being the person Maura fell in love with and that was just something she couldn't risk. So she agreed not to give Doyle any information about the ongoing investigation into Colin's death.

Jane wasn't naive. She was well aware of the fact that Doyle had other means and resources to get the information he needed. She knew he had his own sources inside the department. She just wasn't about to become one of them.

But she also wasn't stupid. She kept the cell phone Doyle gave Maura. While she knew she wouldn't, and couldn't, cross the line and compromise an investigation that didn't necessarily mean that Doyle might not come in handy when it came to ensuring Maura's safety.

She thought they were going to be fine once Maura deleted the original labs that connected Colin to Maura. But when Sean told them that someone was trying to hack into the medical examiner's database and Jane's case files, Jane knew it was someone looking for information. Once Sean confirmed that the threat to Maura was greater than they anticipated, Jane knew she needed to do something drastic to ensure the safety of the woman she loved. Jane had to reach out to a killer to keep her girlfriend alive.

Jane was pulled from her thoughts by the sounds of the approaching vehicle. This was the third time she would be meeting the mob boss but she still hadn't been able to shake the unease she felt. The two prior meetings had been without incident but Jane refused to let herself forget that she was meeting with a killer. She was never completely certain that she wasn't heading into a trap.

The car pulled up and parked about two stalls away from where Jane had parked her car. That had been their routine. Two of Doyle's henchmen would get out of the car and inspect the surrounding area and once they were convinced that Jane didn't have SWAT or a federal task forces waiting to arrest him, Doyle would get out of the car and Jane would then join them.

This morning was no different. Jane waited for Doyle to exit his vehicle before she left hers. They met in the middle and would talk briefly while Doyle's men kept a lookout for any signs of danger.

"What's the development?" Doyle asked. They never exchanged pleasantries.

"FBI," Jane answered. That told Doyle almost everything he needed to know.

"When?" he asked.

"Yesterday," Jane said.

"Can you handle it?" he asked. To this point she had refused to offer up much in the way of details. He was curious more than anything else.

"I have an advantage going in," she gave as an honest answer. "I can handle it."

"I'll handle things on my end," Doyle stated. He knew what the detective was willing to accept from him by way of help. He was doing more but those efforts weren't any of the detective's business.

"24/7 from here on out," Jane said. "No exceptions. No slip-ups." It made her stomach turn to realize who she was having to trust and what exactly she was trusting him with.

Doyle nodded. "It's handled." It was an emphatic answer Jane couldn't help but believe. "Anything else?"

"Did you find the guy Beckett named?" she hadn't gotten an answer from him the last time they talked about this.

"We found him," Doyle confirmed. "If your guy can do what that lieutenant of yours thinks he can do, the kid says he can do the rest."

Jane nodded. That was actually good news. "As for time table, my guess is three days max," Jane said.

"As long as it takes," he said. There wasn't anything more important to him than his daughter's safety. Right now it even mattered more than his own.

"I'll contact you if we get what we need," Jane said. If she was right about everything, if things went as planned, they would need to meet at least one more time before all of this was over.

Doyle nodded. He headed back towards the car. Before getting into the back seat he turned and asked, "How is she?"

Jane couldn't help the smile that crossed her face just thinking about Maura. She'd been so proud of everything Maura had done up to that point. "She's doing as well as anyone could be doing all things considered," Jane answered. The man deserved an honest answer.

Doyle wasted no time getting back into the car followed quickly by his goons. They drove off and disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. Jane got into her car and pulled out the burner cell. She typed a quick message to Maura.

_You're covered 24/7 until this ends._

Jane didn't like it. Maura certainly didn't like it. But this wasn't about what they 'liked'. This was about what they needed and they both knew they needed help protecting Maura. They had agreed to let Doyle offer personal security for Maura the minute the agent took the bait.

Dean had taken the bait. Until this was resolved Maura would have Doyle's men watching over her. Need versus want. One always seemed to outweigh the other. For Jane and Maura, need far surpassed want.

After sending the message Jane drove off towards the station. She would have plenty of time to talk with Cavanaugh before Dean was expected at the station.

R&I

Her burner cell vibrated on the kitchen island. Maura had been expecting a message from Jane. They hadn't specifically talked about it last night but she had been sure Jane would arrange a meeting with Doyle. It was what they had agreed upon. She knew Jane would handle it before heading in to deal with Gabriel.

Maura looked at the message on the phone.

_You're covered 24/7 until this ends._

She didn't need to send a reply so she didn't. She wasn't happy about this. She did not like the idea of Doyle's men lurking somewhere in the shadows watching her. Following her. Yes, she understood it was for her own protection but that didn't mean she had to like it.

She headed back upstairs with coffee in hand to finish getting ready for work. She had enough to worry about today to add Doyle's bodyguards to her list. There was a significant chance Jane would be coming down into the morgue with Gabriel at some point during the day and that would be enough to keep Maura on edge for the day.

R&I

Jane kept finding herself in interesting places. Hotel rooms with Maura. Underground parking garages with a mob kingpin. And up on the roof of the police station with her boss. They needed to talk and neither of them were comfortable with the idea of having a conversation about this particular subject in Sean's office. There was a decent chance that his office was bugged.

Jane wondered if sometimes if her paranoia was getting the better of her. But given the situation, she truly doubted it. They were dealing with people who had the ability to place bugs in their offices, cubicles, phones and vehicles. That's why Jane would periodically turn off her work phone GPS. Why she only communicated with Maura via text messages on the burner phones she secured for them. Why Maura was only allowed to pay for the hotel rooms using prepaid credit cards they made Rondo purchase for them.

Paranoid or not, they all had legitimate reasons to be concerned. And careful.

She jumped a little when she heard the door from the stairway open but relaxed immediately when she saw that it was Sean. He walked over to Jane and greeted her. "This really isn't a civilized hour," he grumbled. He hadn't been in this early in a long time.

Jane snickered. Cavanaugh was not a morning person. "Sorry, but my over eager federal agent wanted to get an early start this morning. I said 9 am but I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts he shows up by 8."

Sean nodded. "I checked with Connecticut State police. There is a taskforce looking into the murders in Bristol and Bridgeport and there are a few federal agents assigned to that taskforce," he paused just long enough for Jane to guess the end of his thought. "But Agent Dean was not officially assigned to that taskforce."

Jane couldn't really say that she was surprised. She read the files and the ViCAP hits and she wouldn't have sent a federal agent to do a case file review based on what she saw. "So he isn't really here," she replied.

"Not officially," Sean said. "He must have heard about the ViCAP hits and when they weren't going to send someone to check it them out he decided he could use it as his way into the station."

Jane sighed, "So he really is working for one of the other families," she said more than asked.

They knew it was someone on a federal level and they suspected a field agent but they didn't know who exactly it was going to turn out to be.

"So," Sean said looking at Jane. "Do you still want to go ahead like you planned?"

Jane hesitated to answer for a moment. "Now that I know it is Dean we are dealing with I would say we are definitely on the right path."

The pieces were starting to fall into place.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jane was at her desk waiting for Dean to arrive. They had agreed upon 9 am but Jane was sure that he was going to be in earlier than that and she hadn't wanted to have him wandering around the station without her. Her goal for the day with Dean was simple. First she needed to keep him out of the morgue and away from Maura. They weren't quite ready for that step in the plan and she needed to avoid it at all costs.

Second, she needed to finish baiting the hook with Dean. It wouldn't be hard. He'd already made several attempts to invite her for coffee to catch up. She'd said no on purpose. They weren't ready for her to say yes yet. But as of this morning, they were ready for that yes to happen. At some point before the end of her day, Jane knew she would be agreeing to have dinner with the agent.

She didn't relish spending any time with the man but it would be necessary if they were going to pull off the plan. Dinner seemed a small price to pay for a shot at securing Maura's safety and ending all the drama. At first Jane had been bothered that the agent turned out to be Dean but when she really thought about it they had lucked out with it being him. Anyone else, someone they didn't know or didn't have a history with, anyone else would have made all of this much more difficult. And it was already extremely difficult. At least Jane could handle him. She could manipulate him without him even realizing it.

Jane knew the next two days were critical in handling the issues permanently. They were so close to having this come to an end and she just didn't want anything to go wrong after all they had done up to that point. Everything needed to be handled just right.

R&I

Like Jane predicted, Dean arrived at the station just after 8 am. Jane had all the files set up in an interview room and they went straight to work on the file reviews. Dean tried to slip in some small talk and Jane allowed the conversations. She knew it would give him some hope and she was working to set him up for later in the afternoon. But they mostly spent the morning pouring over the reports and evidence of the Boston case.

The Cambridge files arrived while they were in the middle of reviewing the Boston case. From the looks of it, it would take them just about the same amount of time to review the Cambridge case as it would the files from the Boston case. That timing would work perfect with Jane.

It took Dean until their first coffee break before he brought up Maura. "There were a couple of lab reports from the Connecticut case I thought could be looked at a bit closer," he said as they were getting coffee.

Jane was deliberately quiet for a few moments. "I didn't see anything I felt needed further review," she said testing to see how Dean would handle the deflection.

Dean took a sip of his coffee. "It wouldn't hurt to have Dr. Isles take a look at the reports though," he said.

The comment was the opening Jane was looking for. "If you think it's necessary we can request someone from the ME's office take a look at the reports. I wouldn't expect an answer for a day or two."

Dean looked at Jane and frowned. "Okay, that's three times now."

Jane feigned confusion. "Three times for what?"

"That's the third time since yesterday either you or Dr. Isles have skirted around each other," he said. "Jane, I thought you two were friends but you both seem to be acting like there is some issue between you two."

Jane looked away from Dean and stayed quiet for a minute. Stayed quiet long enough for Dean to speak again.

"Is there something going on between you two?" he asked.

"Gabe," Jane started, "I don't really want to talk about that." She looked around the café and then back to him. "Especially here." She then waited for Dean to jump on the opening she just gave.

It took all of about ten seconds. "Clearly something is wrong," he said. He looked around and then back at Jane. "Why don't you let me take you out to dinner tonight? We can talk about whatever is going on. Perhaps I can help in some way."

It was absolutely the last thing Jane wanted to do but it was exactly what she had been hoping would happen. "Gabe," she started and hesitated. She wanted to slowly reel him in.

"Just dinner," Dean stated. "A little conversation. A little food. A chance to just get caught up. We don't even need to talk about Maura if you really don't want to," he added to entice the detective.

"Just dinner?" she asked.

Dean held up his hand and promised. "Just dinner."

Jane slowly nodded her head. "8 pm?"

Dean smiled. "Perfect," he answered.

They made their way back up to the bullpen and Jane excused herself to use the restroom. Dean went to go say hello to Korsak and Frost. Jane slipped into the ladies room and into a stall. Once the door was closed she pulled out the burner cell and quickly typed a message for Maura.

_No trip downstairs. Keep to your schedule for today._

She hit send knowing Maura would understand what both sentences meant. She then slipped the phone back into her pocket and went to rejoin Dean.

R&I

Jane and Dean were headed back to the interview room when Cavanaugh popped his head out of his office. "Rizzoli," he said.

Jane stopped, turned and then walked back towards Sean's office. She felt Dean following her back towards her boss' office. "Yes sir?" she said as she stood just outside his office.

Cavanaugh looked at Jane and then nodded a greeting to Dean. "The DA's office called looking for you," he said. "They need your interview summaries for the Abbott case."

"Now?" Jane asked. "We aren't even set for testimony reviews in that case for like three weeks."

"Don't kill the messenger," he said. "Looks like the defense is trying to push for a deal and the DA needs to really understand what we have. They want the summaries by tomorrow if you can manage."

"I've got something going on tonight but I can work on them first thing in the morning," Jane said.

Cavanaugh nodded. He then looked over at Dean who had been lingering while the two spoke. "How's it coming?" he asked. He didn't really care. Their entire conversation had actually been a set up. The Abbott case had settled over two months ago. Both Jane and Sean were just both confirming information for each other.

Sean making reference to the Abbott case was his way of telling Jane that things were all set on his end. Telling her that the DA needed some reports by tomorrow was a way to offer Jane an out on their case review later that afternoon. For Jane, her mention of having plans was a confirmation that Dean had in fact asked her out and she had accepted. It was exactly what he needed to know.

"Slowly," Jane said. "We are still going through the Boston case files and to be honest we aren't really seeing anything." She turned to Dean who in turn nodded his agreement.

"So this looks like it will be a bust?" Sean asked.

"I'm not seeing a connection," Jane admitted. "However we still have the Cambridge case to review so it's a little too early to tell."

Sean nodded. "Keep me posted," he replied and then went back to his desk ending the conversation. Jane and Dean went back to continue their case review. Sean watched them walk away before he grabbed his phone and took a walk.

He waited until he was outside before he dialed a number and waited for an answer. Once the person on the other end picked up Sean handled the conversation.

"We are a go for tonight. Meet me at 7. You're sure you have everything you will need?" he asked needing reassurance.

"I've got it all," the voice said. "I'll see you at 7."

Sean hung up the phone and headed back into the station. Jane was doing her part and he was about to deliver on his end.

R&I

_No trip downstairs. Keep to your schedule today._

Maura read the text message from Jane and sighed in relief. Jane had managed to keep Gabriel from wanting to come down to the lab today. She wasn't quite sure how Jane had pulled it off but she would be grateful to have another day before needing to worry about interacting with the agent. She was still unsure of what exactly the plan was going to be and she knew she would be better at handling Dean if she knew exactly what was going to happen.

She knew what Jane was telling her with the second message as well. It meant there was a chance she was going to get to see Jane at some point during the day. Over the last few weeks if they couldn't arrange for some time together after work, Jane would find a way to meet up with Maura somewhere away from the station so they could talk. Maura shared her schedule with Jane and it wasn't unusual for Jane to pop into a store or a salon to have a few minutes with Maura.

Jane's request for Maura to keep to her schedule made her smile. She had questions for Jane and wanted to know what Jane and Cavanaugh discussed earlier that morning but she also just wanted to see Jane. She hadn't gotten used to being in the station but being unable to see the detective. Having Jane so close but knowing that they couldn't interact was a bit disconcerting.

Maura put the phone back into her pocket knowing she needed to still keep it on her throughout the day just in case Jane unexpectedly needed something. She glanced at her schedule and just from a quick review she had an idea of where she may get her chance to see the detective. It put a smile on her face and for the first time that day she had something good to look forward to. She went back to work determined to keep herself on schedule so as to not put any chance of seeing Jane in jeopardy.

R&I

Jane looked over at Dean and knew she needed to secure one last thing before she was going to end their time together that day. It was clear that neither case was connected to the investigation in Connecticut. Jane knew she needed to set up tomorrow and she needed to do it now.

She straightened up and pushed back from the table sighing loudly. It was enough to get Dean to look up from his piles of paper. "There's just nothing here," she said looking at Dean.

He sighed and had no choice but to agree. "It doesn't look like it, does it?"

"I'm afraid not," Jane said. "I don't think we will be able to offer anything more to the State police other than the exclusion of these two ViCAP hits."

"That's disappointing," Dean said. Jane couldn't help but notice he looked a little panicked. She knew he would be desperate for any reason to return to the station again tomorrow.

"I tell you what," Jane said, "since you had some questions about the lab reports why don't we have the lab review the reports from all the cases just to make sure we aren't missing anything on a forensic level."

Dean couldn't help the smile the trickled across his lips. That was work out for him just perfectly. "That would ensure we covered all the bases before dismissing the cases," he offered.

Jane nodded and knew she had him. "It's a little too late to ask them for a review today but I can arrange for the evaluation first thing tomorrow."

"That would work for me," Dean said. "The taskforce knew we may need a few days before reporting back."

Jane nodded. She looked down at her watch and then back to Dean. "Let's call it a day. It'll give me a chance to work on the investigation summaries for the DA's office so I don't have to be up at dawn to get them done." She knew he wouldn't object wanting to eliminate any excuse she might have for trying to end their dinner early.

Dean nodded again. "I can check in with the field office and give the State police a preliminary update of where we are at."

They seemed to agree to end their day together. They spent a few minutes pulling out the forensic reports from all three cases so Jane could have the ME's office review them in the morning. After that, they packed up the rest of the files.

"So," Dean stated before he was to leave for the day. "8 pm?"

Jane smiled. "8 pm. You can pick me up if you'd like."

Dean smiled. "I'll see you later tonight," and with that he headed out.

R&I

Maura arrived at the last place she had as a set appointment for the day. She hadn't seen Jane at either of the two prior appointments Jane was aware of so she was hoping to find Jane waiting for her in the lobby of the spa. Her eyes scanned the waiting area and she was immediately disappointed not to find her detective waiting for her. Maura decided Jane must not have been able to break away from Dean that afternoon.

She missed Jane. Their stolen moments together were incredible but not nearly enough as far as Maura was concerned. It wasn't just the physical nature of their relationship she missed although she really did miss not having physical contact with Jane on a daily basis. She also just missed being around Jane. Talking with her. Laughing with her. Working through a case with her.

They'd been playing off a 'rift' between them for three weeks. That was three weeks at work where Maura had to resign herself to the fact that Jane wouldn't be just showing up in her morgue to chat. Jane wouldn't be sneaking into her office to avoid doing paperwork. Jane wouldn't be surprising her with a cup of coffee or lunch from the Robber when eating a salad really was the last thing she had wanted to do.

She never really realized just how much time she spent with Jane at work throughout a day until all that time stopped. Her office was suddenly quiet. She was left alone to handle autopsies without the constant interruptions and questions. She wasn't made fun of for her inability to guess at whether or not a reddish brown stain was blood. All of that was missing and Maura hated it.

She missed Jane in her home as well. She understood the need to play off that they were upset with each other at work. She could play along with that because she understood what it was going to mean for her, for them, in the long run. But having Jane be unable to just barge into her home after a shift. To be unable to have their Friday movie nights. To be unable to have Jane next to her in her bed. A place Maura wanted Jane to occupy for the rest of their lives was even harder on the ME.

She'd been alone for most of her life. Surrounded by people but alone because of a lack of a true connection with any of those people. She'd been used to that. But then came Jane. Even when their relationship with still just a friendship Maura had made a deep connection with the detective. Perhaps for the first time in her life.

Suddenly she wasn't alone anymore. She had the loud, opinionated, stubborn, crass detective in her life and she loved every second of it. They were complete opposites in every sense of the word but for some reason they just worked. They worked as friends. They worked as colleagues. And they certainly worked as lovers.

Maura was called back for her appointment and she released a small sigh. She's still been holding out hope that Jane would make an appearance but it didn't appear to be happening. She followed the receptionist back towards her suite where she proceeded to strip down and loosely wrap a sheet around herself. If she couldn't enjoy some time with Jane she was at least going to enjoy her much needed massage. The stress from the last few weeks and made her weekly massages an absolute necessity.

Maura settled in onto the massage table and waited for Amber to enter the suite. She heard the door open and some rustling around but she didn't look up to acknowledge her masseuse. It just wasn't really part of her routine. She would occasionally talk during the massage but for the most part this was just a chance for Maura to have some quiet moments of relaxation as the tension in her muscles got worked out.

She was a little surprised when she felt Amber pull down the sheet as she didn't usually start directly on Maura's back. She was even a bit more surprised when she felt oil covered hands slowly start to lightly move over her shoulder blades and her back. Amber normally gauged Maura's level of tension before making a move for oil and beginning the massage.

But she was completely taken by surprise when Amber leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Has anyone ever told you just how incredibly beautiful you truly are?"

It wasn't Amber's voice attached to that statement. It was a voice she yearned to hear every single day of her life.

"Jane!" Maura practically screamed as she shot up on the table to get a look at the detective.

"SShhhh!" Jane cautioned with a mischievous grin on her face. "I promised Amber we would at least try to keep it quiet. She could get into some serious trouble if you aren't careful."

"Sorry," Maura said and smiled. Jane was here and she couldn't be happier. "What happened this morning? What about Dean? Was Cavanaugh able to arrange everything?" She fired off a rapid succession of questions at the detective.

"Hey," Jane said. "Relax," she requested. She indicated for Maura to lay back down on the table. "You are here for a massage and that is exactly what you shall get."

Maura tried to object but Jane gave her a look that suggested not to even try to fight it. "I promise I will fill you in on everything," she conceded. "But for right now, I just want to run my hands over every inch of your body. I'd like to think you'd indulge me in such a request."

The very thought made Maura shudder and her body flushed. "I believe I can be persuaded towards such an endeavor," Maura said coyly as she laid back down on the table. She found her body was tingling in anticipation.

Maura felt Jane gently move her hair away from her shoulders and suddenly felt the detective's warm breath against back of her neck. It caused goose-bumps to wash over her. When she felt Jane's lips come in contact with her neck she sighed.

"That's not exactly correct therapeutic technique," Maura pointed out.

"Oh,' Jane spoke softly. "This is a new concept," she said as she slowly let her lips trace over the skin on the back of Maura's neck. "Experimental actually," she teased and retraced the path her lips had just ran. "Quite cutting edge if you want to know the truth." With that she grazed against the spot right under Maura's right ear. It was one of her weak points.

Maura gave a slight moan as Jane's tongue began to trace tiny circles around her ear. "Well in the interest of scientific experimentation, by all means carry on," she said.

Jane snickered just a bit and returned to her assault on the back of Maura's neck. She layered kiss after kiss along the ME's neck working across from side to side in a torturously slow pattern that included agonizingly wonderful time spent on, underneath, around, and occasionally in Maura's ears. Jane was a genius with her lips and Maura was loving every second of it.

Jane finally moved away from Maura's neck and started to trail her lips down across her shoulders. Just like her neck, Jane was working across her skin in a slow, deliberate path and just like with her neck she seemed content to only use her lips, tongue and teeth the few times Jane would nip at the flesh beneath her.

"I thought you wanted to run your _hands _across every inch of my body," Maura said quietly. Not that she didn't enjoy what Jane was currently doing to her but she wanted more. She want to feel more of Jane against her skin.

"I may have changed my mind," Jane teased as she continued to just let her mouth start to roam all across Maura's back. "Remember, this is an experimental process," she breathed out as her tongue licked a small pattern just under Maura's shoulder blade that made the ME shiver. "Several variations to the process have to be tested." She moved down to the small of Maura's back and again began to only trace across the skin with her lips. "You know, for research and all," she stated and then seemed to get lost in her exploration of the skin on Maura's lower back.

In her life Maura have never felt anything as sensual or erotic as what Jane was doing to her. She tried to stay in the moment. Tried to stay engaged with Jane but as Jane's lavish attention to her continued she found herself getting lost in the incredible ecstasy of it all and she finally just let herself get lost in the sensations.

Jane was everywhere seemingly all at the same time. Her legs. Her ass. Her shoulders. Her neck. Her ears. Up and down Jane went without much of a pattern. Or maybe there was one but Maura just couldn't concentrate enough to figure it out as every time Jane was in a different location Maura couldn't quite tell how Jane had managed to get there. Of course that could simply have been because her entire body was a tingling, quivering mess.

She lost time. She had no idea just how long Jane worked her over with her lips. She was in a haze. There but not. A state she couldn't quite remember if she'd ever felt before but she seriously doubted it. She had never felt this good before of that she was certain.

As Jane was making another lap up the back of Maura's leg she spoke gently. "There have been some conflicting theories surrounding one specific aspect of this experimental technique," she teased. "Perhaps you would be willing to assist in a little further research?"

It was stated like a question but both women knew Maura was in no condition to say no to anything Jane wanted to try in the moment. "For the sake of science?" Maura quietly asked.

"Perhaps more along the lines of personal curiosity," Jane answered. She was back up towards Maura's shoulders and Maura was only able to able to moan an affirmative consent. "Turn over," Jane whispered into Maura's ear. Jane's warm breath against her ear and the idea of what was about to happen next made Maura gasp but immediately comply.

She rolled over and locked eyes with Jane for the first time since Jane had started working her over. There was nothing but pure love and devotion reflecting back at her and it pulled at her heart a little. She was absolutely head over heels in love with this woman. Unable to resist, she leaned up and captured the detective's lips with hers for a searing kiss that left them both breathless.

"Research Maur," Jane reminded the woman and urged her to lay back down.

The slow, incredible torture quickly resumed for Maura as this time Jane started at Maura's feet and started to repeat everything she had just done on her backside. Lips worked their way up and down Maura's legs but Jane seemed determined to avoid making contact with Maura's center which by now was soaking wet and burning with desire. As Jane spent time letting her tongue traces patterns across her inner thigh Maura attempted to cheat by trying to roll her hips in towards Jane's tongue.

But Jane would have none of that. The attempted hip roll resulted in Jane moving further away from the desired area and back down towards her calves. Again, the sensations were wonderful but she wanted more. At this point in the buildup she absolutely needed more.

Jane sensing Maura's needs could only smile. She knew what she was doing to the ME and she absolutely loved it. She wanted Maura to experience a sensation and anticipation she had never felt before. One only she could give her. Watching Maura quiver, hearing Maura moan and smelling Maura's arousal, Jane knew she was succeeding.

Jane worked her way back up Maura's legs but jumped over her core again and started in on her stomach. In between kisses and slow licks she spoke. "There's one theory that says this experimental technique is somewhat of a letdown," she let her tongue swirl in and around Maura's belly button as she spoke. "Intense buildup to such a degree that the anticipation sets a person up for an eventual disappointment."

As she talked Jane moved up Maura's body and worked all around Maura's chest with the exception of her breasts. She avoided any direct contact with Maura's breasts just as she had avoided Maura's center. Maura's breathing was becoming more and more labored and Jane worked her way across almost every inch of Maura's chest.

When Jane moved to Maura's neck a few moans escaped Maura that were louder than she really should have been. "Ssshhh," Jane had to warn again. "You really don't want to get Amber into trouble for letting me in here today."

Maura sighed and tried to nod her head but Jane had started working over her clavicle and pulse point which only made her want to moan again. All she could do was bite her bottom lip and try to control what she was sure by now were involuntary reactions to Jane's treatment of her.

She lost time again. She had no idea how long Jane worked over her neck, shoulders and upper chest. She was pretty sure Jane had managed to mark her a few times but it didn't matter. All that mattered was how Jane was making her feel and she felt alive and on fire. Somehow Jane's tongue was both fire and ice against her skin.

"Another theory," Jane said as she worked her lips down one of Maura's arms, "is that the anticipation of what is still to come," she started as she worked over the palm of Maura's hand. "Even when it is inevitable that the end is approaching," she continued back up Maura's arm and trailed her tongue back over towards her breasts pausing right before committing to something more.

"Even when it's no longer a mystery," and with that Jane finally let her lips graze across Maura's nipple. The sensation made Maura gasp slightly. She had expected more teasing from Jane. "That theory states that if the buildup is just right," she took more of Maura's nipple into her mouth and let her tongue and teeth work their magic. Maura had to fight herself hard not to release a loud moan.

"The anticipation only heightens the experience," Jane finished a thought Maura was having all sorts of trouble even following. She heard buzz words like anticipation, buildup and mystery but she wasn't exactly sure in what order she heard them or in what context they were being used. She'd have to remember to ask Jane about that later.

"Personally," Jane said as she released Maura's breast having spent a significant amount of time on the previously ignored area. She started working her way back down towards Maura's center. "Personally I believe in theory number two." Jane continued down a path Maura was sure she had traced at least twice during this entire escapade. As Jane got closer and closer to where Maura desperately needed her she was certain she wouldn't survive another long tease from the woman who was hovering over her.

She needed a release. Jane had managed to run her lips and tongue across each inch of her short of the one area that was demanding of attention and she desperately needed this to come to an end.

"God Jane," Maura hissed as Jane's tongue again found Maura's inner thigh. "Please." It was only three words but in Maura's current condition all three were a struggle to even get out.

"Definitely theory number two," Jane said as if finally deciding on an answer to a question Maura never managed to ask. "You just can't ever have too much of a good thing."

With that finally said, Jane put Maura out of the last shred of misery the woman had been clinging to. Jane dove into Maura's center not at all surprised at how wet the ME truly was. She was actually surprised Maura had held off as long as she had. Jane was fairly certain if Maura had been doing this to her she would have lost it completely before that moment.

She let her tongue roll over Maura's clit and the ME couldn't stop the loud moan that escaped her lips. To hell with being quiet. She'd buy Amber something really nice later if the woman got into any kind of trouble. Right now her lover was doing incredible things to her with just her mouth and she had earned the right to be a little vocal.

Maura's end was near and as Jane sucked Maura's clit into her mouth and gently let her teeth apply just a little pressure that was all it took for Maura to cum harder than she ever had before. Her whole body shook as wave after wave of pleasure was finally allowed to wash over her.

She hadn't even tried to stop the scream she added to the release. She was definitely going to have to buy Amber something extremely nice as anyone within 20 yards of Maura's suite would have been able to make out exactly what had just occurred in that room.

It hadn't been conventional but Jane managed to work out every bit of tension in Maura's body without laying a single finger on her.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"_Holy shit!" uttered Cavanaugh. He was shocked. Did Maura just really tell him that she was the daughter of one of the most notorious Boston mafia kingpins?_

"_Excuse me?"_ _he really was going to need that repeated for him._

_Maura sighed. "The lab results prove that Colin Doyle was my half-brother. We shared the same biological father."_

"_Patrick Doyle," Sean said still not sure he was hearing this all correctly._

"_Yes," Maura confirmed._

"_The Patrick Doyle," Sean repeated as if maybe the answer might somehow change._

"_Yes," Maura confirmed once again._

"_Did you…." He started to ask but then realized that wasn't altogether fair of him._

"_No, I did not know who my biological father, or my mother for that matter, was until two days ago. And I still do not know who my biological mother is," she added. "He won't tell me."_

"_You've spoken to him?" Sean was even more surprised. His Chief Medical Examiner was having conversations with a wanted felon. The conversation seemed surreal._

"_On two occasions," Maura admitted. "The first time was here at the station when Patrick came to identify his son," she started._

"_Patrick Doyle was in this building?!" Cavanaugh couldn't help the raised voice until Jane shh'd him immediately. He had practically yelled it._

"_He checked in as a visitor using the name Selsi," Jane answered._

_Sean was confused. "I've never heard that name before," he said. He knew a lot of the aliases Doyle had used over the years but that wasn't a name he was familiar with._

"_It's my adoptive name spelled backwards," Maura pointed out._

"_Clever," Sean replied as he thought about it. "But how the hell does a mafia kingpin waltz in and out of a police station?" he asked Jane not really thinking she had an actual answer._

"_Someone had to help him," Jane pointed out. It had been something she was thinking about ever since she found Maura down in the morgue shortly after Doyle's visit._

"_Son of a bitch," Cavanaugh mumbled._

"_Language," Maura scolded. She had let his first cursing go without admonishing him given that she herself almost had that exact same reaction. But this time she couldn't help herself._

"_Sorry," Sean genuinely apologized. Jane had to make an effort not to giggle. At least she wasn't the only person Maura did that to._

"_He had to have had help," Jane said. There was just no other way that a wanted felon could get in and out of a police station without someone recognizing him. It wasn't too surprising that a mob figure like Doyle had insiders at the police station. Jane was fairly certain that every family had at least one or two contacts on the inside._

_While Sean tried to wrap his brain around the idea that Paddy Doyle had been inside his station and no one had apprehended him he asked Maura another question. "You said twice. When was the second time?"_

"_He kidnapped me from the morgue two days ago," Maura had to admit._

"_What the fu…" Sean started._

"_Language," echoed both Jane and Maura before he could finish the word they all knew was coming. _

"_And keep your voice down," Jane cautioned. If there was an inside source in the station the last thing they needed to do was make any noise about Doyle._

"_The man kidnapped you?" Sean asked. "My Chief Medical Examiner gets kidnapped from my morgue and I'm only now just hearing about this? What the hell Rizzoli?" _

_Jane knew he was going to be pissed. She didn't blame him. "We are trying to keep all of this quiet," she offered up. Korsak and Frost knew Maura had gone missing but that was it. And they thought it was just Doyle trying to get information about what happened to his son. They still didn't know Maura was related to Doyle._

"_You keep things quiet from the rest of the station not from me," Sean stated emphatically. Damn it he was still the boss and you tell the boss about things like kidnappings. "Are you alright?" he turned to Maura suddenly concerned for her wellbeing. _

"_I'm alright," Maura reassured the lieutenant. "He only wanted to talk."_

"_He wants to know who killed his son," Jane answered for Maura. "He wants to handle the guilty party himself."_

"_I bet he does," Sean scoffed. The man was a ruthless, coldblooded killer. "And he thinks that you would help him?" he asked looking at Maura. Maura was one of the most honest people Sean knew. Clearly the man did not know his daughter at all._

"_He's trying to manipulate her," Jane paused, "us," as she had almost fallen for the argument, "into believing he can keep Maura safe from the other families if he can send a message."_

"_Oh sweet Jesus," Cavanaugh uttered. It dawned on him just how much danger Maura was really in at that moment. "If they went after his son to get to him," he started._

"_They'll come after me if they find out I'm his daughter," Maura finished the statement. That was the big fear. Maura was stuck in a situation in which she was close to becoming a pawn in a game of chess being played by rival mob families. It would be a complete disaster if word ever got out that she was Doyle's daughter._

"_Holy shit," he muttered again. Neither Jane nor Maura admonished him that time. They all kind of agreed with that one._

"_You said the hacker failed to get into the medical database?" Jane asked again wanting confirmation that no one had obtain records of anything. Sean nodded. "Then we are still ok," she said. "That's why Maura deleted the first set of lab results. It linked to her DNA sample that is on file. We blamed cross contamination."_

"_But the tests still exist," Sean pointed out. "There's a record of the deletion and what was run. Plus, Maura you re-ran the tests again and added a comparison to a 'John Doe #2'."_

"_That was Patrick's blood," Maura told Cavanaugh. "He offered me a blood sample so I could see for myself that he really is my biological father."_

"_That's even worse," Sean groaned. Both women looked a little confused so he tried to explain himself. "Someone hacked into our systems looking for information on Doyle. They wanted to look in Jane's case files and in the ME database. If they get into our system they are going to see that you deleted tests for this case and then re-ran tests plus added a new DNA sample for a comparison."_

_Both Jane and Maura still looked as if they didn't quite understand what his point actually was._

"_They are going to want to know what those deleted tests showed," Sean said. "Plus, if they hack into our system again and actually acquire those tests, they are going to wonder how it was that you got a fresh sample of Doyle's blood."_

"_Shit," Jane mumbled and this time Maura was too stunned to admonish her for the utterance. Neither had thought about how they would explain how they got the blood sample from Doyle._

"_Jane, if they ever get a copy of those tests they are going to realize that Maura is connected to Doyle in some way. A mafia kingpin does not just offer up a blood sample to the Chief Medical Examiner without a reason. They are going to want to know that reason and if they are good enough to get into the servers to find the deletions, they are going to be good enough to find that reason."_

_Sean was right. The minute Maura ran Patrick's blood for deliberate analysis against Colin's she pulled her connection to Doyle into the picture whether they had found her DNA profile or not. There was just no way they wouldn't question that blood sample and why Doyle had given it. If they had the ability to hack the server, there was no doubt in anyone's mind they would find the answers none of them wanted to get out._

"_If they get into the system the next time," Sean pointed out, "they are going to be able to recover those deleted tests. You may have deleted the record from the file but it certainly still exists within the servers. Maura's DNA profile is on file. Patrick Doyle's DNA profile is on file. At this point everything is on file just waiting to be discovered."_

"_Shit," Jane mumbled again. She hadn't considered hackers trying to get into the server when she encouraged Maura to delete the first round of tests._

"_Language Jane," Maura said still not able to help herself._

"_What do we do?" Jane asked Cavanaugh. This was the woman she loved they were talking about. She had to protect Maura. It just couldn't get out that she had a connection to Doyle._

_They were all quiet for a moment. This was more than any of them had thought they would have to deal with that morning. It was a lot to take in for all three of them._

"_Do we know who tried to hack into the server?" Jane finally asked breaking the silence._

"_I don't think so," Sean answered. "But to be honest with you I didn't ask a lot of questions when I heard about it. I can try to find out."_

"_Without anyone knowing why you need to know?" Jane asked. She didn't need it to get out that they were asking any questions about the attempted hacking. _

_Sean nodded. "I know the head of our IT security. We've actually known each other for years. I should be able to ask some questions and get some answers without it getting all over the station that I was snooping around." _

_The head of IT security for the police department was a man named Alex McKenzie. Sean had gone through the academy with him and McKenzie had been an officer for years. But as the proliferation of computers became the way of the world, Alex gravitated towards that and away from the streets. The man was extremely intelligent and as it turned out very gifted with an understanding of computers. He managed to forge a decent career within the IT department and today was in command of IT security for the entire police department. Sean was certain he could have a discrete conversation with Alex about the attempted breach and quite possibly get him to help out if they needed more information._

_Maura looked at Jane. "Do you think it was one of Doyle's men just trying to find information on Colin's killer?" That would be the best possible scenario for them all as Doyle was clearly already aware of Maura's paternity and if it was him she wasn't in immediate danger._

"_That would be our best option," Jane answered. "But we can't just assume it was him. It may have been whoever is responsible for killing Colin. They could be looking for more information about Patrick." Jane still had no clue who had murdered Colin outside of the fact she was sure it was one of the Boston families._

"_That's the first thing we need to figure out," Sean said. "We need to know if it's Doyle or one of the other families."_

_All three nodded in agreement. Now the question remained how they would go about doing that. _

"_When…" Maura started up was interrupted by Jane._

"_I think the best thing Maura and I can do is to try to solve Colin's murder. If we can figure out who killed him that may just give us the identity of who is behind the hacking attempt if it isn't Doyle." Jane stopped Maura from speaking because she knew what Maura was about to tell Cavanaugh. As honest as she was being with Sean she wasn't willing to tell him they had a means of contacting Doyle. Not at this point in time anyway._

"_I'll get in touch with my contact in IT and see if I can learn anything about the source of the hacking attempt," Sean said. They should have time to investigate the attempt by now. "In the meantime, I highly recommend that you two keep all of this between yourselves."_

_Maura and Jane both agreed. They had planned on bringing Korsak and Frost into the loop but Cavanaugh had called them into his office before they could say anything. At this point, both could leave them out until they really knew what was going on. If the hacking attempt had just been Doyle, there wouldn't be a need to share anything._

_They both stood and headed out of Sean's office after he promised to let them know later in the day what he found out about the hacking attempt. _

_Maura waited until they were at Jane's desk before she mentioned being cut off by Jane. "Why did you cut me off in there?" she asked._

"_You were about to tell Cavanaugh about the phone," Jane said as if it was self-explanatory._

"_How'd you know that?" she asked._

"_Because I know you," Jane replied. "Maura, I don't want Cavanaugh to know about that cell phone."_

_Maura was about to say something when Korsak and Frost walked back to their desks with coffee, including cups for Jane and Maura, in hand._

"_What did Cavanaugh want?" Korsak asked._

"_He heard about what happened to Maura," Jane answered before Maura would have to. "He just wanted some details and to see if Maura was ok."_

_Jane looked at Maura and didn't miss the look on her face. Jane knew they would be having a long, serious conversation about that cell phone and what they would do with it. They just wouldn't have that talk at the station._

R&I

_Cavanaugh couldn't believe that his morning started out with being told that the medical examiner for whom he had a great deal of respect was the biological daughter of an Irish mob boss. That's just not something he ever thought he would have to deal with._

_He felt bad for Dr. Isles. He had no idea what she must be going through having just learned who her father was. Nobody's family was perfect but this was beyond the typical level of dysfunction. This little piece of family history had an added bonus of putting her life in danger._

_He knew Rizzoli would do everything in her power to protect Maura. He was well aware of their friendship. Although neither ever said anything he often wondered if their feelings for each other ran deeper than friendship. Sean didn't make it a habit to stick his nose into the personal lives of his detectives, but he worked at the same station as those two did and he certainly wasn't blind. He'd seen the looks exchanged between the two and he'd always been aware of how they interacted._

_He didn't know much but he knew Maura held a special place in Jane's life. Maura was allowed to do and say things to Jane that no other person, including family, was allowed. He'd never seen anything quite like it before. Jane had always kept everyone at a distance. She had people in her life. She wasn't a loner. But no one ever really got in close to her. No one except Maura._

_He didn't blame her. The life of a cop was always a tough, lonely one. You just couldn't see the things they had to see on a daily basis and not have it affect you. But with Jane, there was always extra baggage. She carried around with her what she had experienced with Hoyt and that pretty much set her apart from the rest of the department. No one else had ever had to live through the things Jane had lived through. He had often been convinced that that it been anyone other than Jane that person wouldn't have survived what she managed to survive._

_But Maura seemed to break all of the rules when it came to Jane. She broke through Jane's defenses as if they weren't really there. She was allowed to touch Jane's hands when not a single other person was allowed to do that. She could get Jane to do things no one else would ever even think to ask her to do. And perhaps the most amazing thing Sean was aware of was the fact that she could get Jane to listen to her. Rizzoli had a stubborn streak a mile long but if Maura asked for something, Jane did it whether she wanted to or not._

_So he knew Jane was going to move Heaven and Earth to protect the ME. Given the fact that he was now in a position to know more about Maura than anyone else, besides Jane, knew, it was up to him to help Jane keep the ME safe. He would do what he could. For Maura's sake as well as for Jane's._

_He left his office and ride the elevator down into the 'pits' which was what everyone called the basement level of the station where all the servers and IT equipment seemed to be stored. He hadn't been down in the pits for quite some time. If he was lucky, he'd catch Alex at his desk._

_He got off the elevator and made his way towards the office he knew belonged to Alex. He hadn't been stretching the truth when he told Jane he had a good contact in IT security. He'd known Alex for 30 years and he considered the man a true friend. So he wasn't too surprised that Alex broke out into a large grin when the man looked up from the computer screen when he heard the knock on his door._

"_Sean!" Alex proclaimed seeing the man standing in his doorway. He hadn't seen Sean for a few weeks._

"_Alex," Sean greeted with an equaled smile. Theirs had always been an easy friendship. "How are you?" he asked not wanting to dive right into what he needed to talk about._

"_Good," he said and motioned for Sean to enter into the office and have a seat. "Things here are a little crazy at the moment but good."_

"_How's Cindy?" Sean asked inquiring after Alex's wife._

"_Awry as ever," he said with a smile. "How are you?" From the look on his friend's face Alex was certain this wasn't a pure social visit._

"_I'm fine," Sean answered. "Do you have a couple of minutes?" he asked. He wasn't sure how busy Alex was._

"_For you," Alex remarked, "I think I can spare a few. What's up?"_

_Sean sat quietly for a few moments. He wasn't even exactly sure how to go about asking Alex any questions without running the risk of perhaps saying more than he should. _

_After a few moments of silence Alex spoke. "Sean, you do realize that this whole conversation thing works a whole lot better when you actually talk, right?" He had been kidding but when Sean only slightly smirked Alex got the sense that whatever Sean needed to talk about was something extremely serious._

"_Can I talk to you about something," Sean started. "Off the record?"_

_Alex had known Sean for 30 years and in that time the man had never asked him such a thing. "Off the record?" he asked a little curious by what Sean meant by that._

"_I need some information from you but I'm not exactly sure it's information that you can, or will for that matter, give to me," Sean said trying to slowly lay the groundwork on what he needed to ask._

"_You can ask me anything," Alex offered up. "If we tread into territory which I'm not allowed to discuss something with you I'll certainly tell you." That was the best he could offer his friend in that moment._

"_Can you keep this conversation between us?" Sean asked._

_This, too, hadn't been anything Sean had ever asked him in the years they had been friends. He immediately know there was something serious going on. "Sure," he answered and had meant it._

"_If I told you it was absolutely imperative that I find out who was behind the attempted server breach would you be able to talk to me about that?"_

"_Which one?" Alex asked. The station experienced about 6-7 attempted system breaches a month._

"_The one that just happened the other day," Sean said. Looking at Alex he seemed to realize that didn't quite narrow it down. "The one that targeting the medical examiner's database," he added._

_Alex's eyes lit up slightly when Sean identified that attempted breach. It was what he had been personally working on for the last two days. That specific attempt had been the furthest into the servers a hacker had gotten in almost two years. It was also the one in which everything he had been able to discover to that point had disturbed him greatly._

_Not willing to answer Sean's question yet he asked a question of his own. "Why would that be imperative?" He knew Sean to be an extremely level headed man. He wouldn't be asking something like this, with the look he still had on his face, just for the sake of curiosity. Whatever reason he had it was a damn good one._

"_Someone's life may depend on it," Sean answered honestly._

_Given what Alex had already found about the attempted breach, he couldn't even say he was surprised to hear that. He paused long enough to really take in his old friend. After a minute, he stood up and walked around his desk towards his door which he proceeded to close. He then took a seat next to Sean._

"_I think you need to start at the very beginning," he said. He had a feeling Sean was about to provide him with some answers to his own questions about what happened with this security breach. Something in Alex's gut told him that Sean was about to provide him with an understanding as to why he could link the external system breach to a source inside the station._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"_Rizzoli," Cavanaugh called out from his office._

"_What does he want now?" Korsak asked looking at Jane as if she would have the answer._

_She really wasn't sure but if she had to guess he had found something out from his IT contact. But she wasn't going to get into that with Korsak at the moment. "How should I know?" she said, "unless he isn't done yelling at me for not telling him about what happened to Maura the other night."_

_Korsak shook his head and was just glad Jane was taking the brunt of that abuse. "Good luck with that," he said sympathetically. He could see Cavanaugh's point. They probably should have told him Doyle's men took the ME but she wasn't gone long and according to Jane they never hurt her. Doyle was just looking for information on who killed his son._

"_Thanks," she mumbled and she pushed herself away from her desk to go see what the lieutenant wanted. Since she was called into his office she didn't even bother to knock she was started to make her way to the chair in front of his desk._

"_Close the door," he said to her catching her before she could sit. _

_Jane grabbed the door closing it and then settled into the chair. "I take it you have some news?" Jane asked assuming that was the reason he had called her into his office._

"_We have a problem," Sean said._

_Jane was struck by how sullen Sean sounded. Whatever he had been told it certainly wasn't good news. "What did you find out?"_

"_There's two issues. Both have complications and both are not good for the station or for Maura," Sean answered. There didn't appear to be any reason to sugar coat what he had learned. Jane had a very vested interest in protecting Maura._

"_So what are the issues? Did someone actually get into the records?" She wondered if the hacker got further than what Cavanaugh assumed before he started asking questions._

"_Yes and no," Sean answered._

"_Alright," Jane said a bit confused. "You're going to have to explain that to me."_

_Sean sighed and wondered where to begin. "The hacker managed to get into some of the medical database files before the attempt was stopped."_

"_Oh God," she uttered. Someone out there knew Maura was related to Doyle. The very notion made her sick to her stomach._

"_Before you panic," Sean tried to reassure her, "they didn't get any actual results."_

_Jane's body immediately unclenched. She could work with that. She thought anyway. "What did they get?"_

"_They saw what we saw when we ran the histories on what you and Maura had worked on," Sean said. According to Alex the hacker was aware that certain lab reports had been deleted by Maura in regards to their 'John Doe' case. "They know she deleted labs on your case."_

"_Did they see that a second set of tests were run?" Jane wondered._

"_Alex doesn't think so," Sean said. "He's fairly certain they forced out the intrusion before the person could get any specific detail on anything. But he believes the hacker knows something in reference to the 'John Doe' case was deleted."_

_Jane really needed to find out if Doyle was behind the hacking attempt. She thought about the cell phone that Doyle had given Maura and she knew she was going to have to use it. This was just too important to leave to chance. If it was Doyle then Maura was safe. If it wasn't, then the woman she was in love with was in extreme danger._

"_They will try again," Jane stated certain that whoever tried the first time would go fishing around again._

_Sean nodded in agreement. "Yes, they will. Alex believes that too."_

"_What did you tell him?" Jane asked. She was aware of who McKenzie was. He had an excellent reputation at the station. Everyone respected that he was an actual cop and not just some computer nerd. Even though he had been off the streets and involved with IT for years, the man still carried a badge and a gun. Somehow that always seemed to matter to other officers._

"_That your 'John Doe' is Colin Doyle," Sean said. There was no reason to hide the truth from him at this point. Given the nature of everything else Alex had confided in him, he needed to be honest about what had probably caused everything. _

"_And Maura?" Jane asked tentatively. She was certain Sean wouldn't have given any details he didn't absolutely have to but the whole situation was making her extremely nervous._

"_Nothing on that front," Sean said. For now he wasn't going to tell a single person he didn't have to. "Alex is just now aware that your 'John Doe' case is actually connected to the mob. In the end, that's all he really needs to know."_

_Jane agreed. It was going to get out that their 'John Doe' was Colin Doyle. By tomorrow at the latest it would be all over the station that Jane was now working a mob hit. That kind of information never stayed quiet._

"_Thank you," Jane said with an almost infinite amount of sincerity. She knew she could trust Sean. She'd always known that. But something this big went way beyond routine trust._

"_Confirming Doyle's identity only helped explain what was going on with our second, and in my opinion bigger, problem," Sean said gravely._

_Jane swallowed hard not even sure she wanted to know what could be a bigger problem than trying to hide the paternity of her girlfriend from a city of Irish mobsters. "What's our second problem?"_

"_Alex has been working the investigation into the hacking attempt himself," Sean said. "Apparently attempts against our servers are pretty routine but whoever got in got further than anyone has in over three years."_

_Jane nodded but really didn't see what that was supposed to be telling her about their current situation other than whoever they had trying to break in was just pretty good at it. "And?"_

"_And," he stated but before he told her the news he looked at his door as if to ensure it was shut. That didn't go unnoticed by Jane. "He hasn't been able to isolate the source of the hacker yet. Whoever was behind it apparently bounced off of multiple IP networks and masked his signal."_

_That still didn't help Jane. She understood some things about computers but she certainly wasn't an expert. Her instinct in that moment was to go out and get Frost so she knew someone in the room fully understood the technical details. But until she knew exactly what was going on she wasn't going to bring Frost, or Korsak, into this mess yet. "Alright," Jane said, "but what does that mean to Maura?"_

"_Alex hasn't found the source of the external breach," Sean pointed out. "However, he did find something."_

_Jane would take anything at that point in time. "What?"_

"_According to Alex, anytime anyone does anything electronic, there is a 'footprint' if you will that they leave behind. Mostly it is a signature from the IP address in which the electronic activity was generated. Some people, mainly hackers, know how to mask their static IP address to prevent a clean trace back to a specific computer._

"_When that happens it makes it harder to identify the source of the activity. Harder but not impossible. Even with a masked IP address, there is still an electronic 'footprint' left behind. Masking the IP address basically scrambles the footprint and hides the physical location of the electronic source. Depending on the level of sophistication of the hacker that footprint can either be relatively easy to unscramble or significantly difficult."_

"_I take it in our case we are dealing with the significantly difficult?" Jane said. She figured she'd end up with all the chips stacked against her._

"_No actually," Sean said. "Or at least Alex has seen much better sophistication than what he is dealing with now."_

_That made Jane feel better. At least that was something anyway._

"_Where our problem begins," Sean said and he opened a file that had been sitting on his desk," is that Alex has been able to connect the scrambled footprint of the external hacker to a static IP address here inside the station."_

_Jane understood that. The mob had someone on the inside communicating with them. "Jesus," she mumbled. She hated dirty cops. "It's one of our own?" she couldn't help but ask aloud._

"_Not the hacker," Sean clarified. "That is still definitely an external source. One who seems to know what he is doing. But there is someone in our department that appears to be communicating with that external source."_

"_Do we know who that someone is?" Jane asked. That may go a long way towards resolving their issues. If they knew who it was here in the station they could maybe work to figure out who he was dealing with on the outside._

"_You're not going to like this," Sean said as he pushed the file over to Jane so she could start to review its contents._

_It took looking at one email for Jane to be shocked. It took looking at a second email for her to be angry. By the third email Jane was outright furious. _

"_That little son of a bitch!" Jane exclaimed as she looked at the stack of unencrypted emails. The sender was Detective Crowe._

R&I

_Jane finally came out of Cavanaugh's office about thirty minutes later. Frost could tell something was bothering his partner._

"_Everything alright?" he asked. She'd been in the lieutenant's office for almost an hour with the door shut the entire time. That almost never happened._

_Jane didn't immediately answer. She looked at Frost and then shrugged her shoulders. "I've had better days," she answered honestly. Everything she had discussed with Sean was still swirling through her head. It was a lot to take in and she needed to talk to Maura. If their plan was going to work Maura was going to have to be totally on board with it._

"_What's going on?" Frost asked with concern. Jane rarely admitted when something was bothering her. People usually just had to watch her actions and body language really close to see if she was ok or not. This may have been one of the first times he had heard her almost admit that there was something wrong._

"_I'm sure it's nothing," Jane said quietly but not convincingly. She hated what she was starting to do here but it was necessary. "Can I ask a favor?" she said knowing Frost would be more than willing to do anything._

"_Name it," he said. There wasn't much he wouldn't do for his partner._

"_Can you cover for me for the rest of the day?" she asked._

_That surprised him. Jane never took off in the middle of an afternoon. Something was definitely going on. "Sure," he said. They were at a standstill in the Doyle investigation at the moment. They were waiting for several labs to come back and now that it appeared to be a mob related homicide they knew they were going to have a hard time continuing the investigation. "Is there anything you need?"_

"_I just need to talk to Maura about something," Jane said. That was definitely true but she just wasn't going to be able to tell Frost what the something entailed. _

_Frost was now completely lost. Jane talked to Maura all the time. If she wasn't at her desk odds were she was down in the lab talking with Maura. He wondered what had rattled Jane so much that her needing to speak with Maura would take her away from the station for the rest of the day. _

_He knew not to push. Jane never talked about what she didn't want to talk about. Instead of trying to get her to tell him the issue he just nodded. "I've got things here," he said. "Go."_

_Jane nodded and thanked him. She hadn't let go of the folder Sean had given her and she wasn't going to let go of it until her and Maura were able to spend time alone together. She picked up two things from her desk and mumbled to him that she would see him in the morning as she headed for the elevators._

_She was gone before Frost could really process everything that just happened. And even after replaying it all in his head he didn't understand it._

"_Jane's still in with Cavanaugh?" Korsak asked as he returned to the bullpen with coffees for himself, Frost and Jane. He'd expected to see her out at her desk by now._

_Frost didn't reach for the coffee he had specifically asked Korsak to get him. "She's out," he said still sort of staring at the bank of elevators where he last saw his partner._

"_Did she say what he wanted?" Korsak asked. He was curious and a little worried. Jane had been in there for a long time and the door was shut. Sean never shut his door._

_Frost simply shook his head. _

"_Where is she?" Korsak asked looking around._

"_She's gone home for the day," he answered._

"_What the hell?" he asked. It took threats from Maura to get Jane to even think about taking a sick day and now she was going home for the day?_

"_I don't know what's going on," admitted Frost. "She came out of Cavanaugh's office looking pissed off about something and asked me if I could cover for her for the rest of the day."_

"_That's it?" Korsak asked. _

"_And she said she needed to talk to Maura about something," he added._

_Neither knew what was going on but they both seemed to realize that it should be something to worry about._

R&I

_Jane approached Maura's office hoping the catch the ME in her office and not in the lab. Jane needed for her not to be in the middle of an autopsy. They needed to leave the station to talk and Jane really didn't want to wait for Maura to finish up on a body. _

_Luckily, she found Maura sitting at her desk reviewing paperwork. Jane entered the office without knocking and approached Maura's desk. "Hey," she said getting the ME's attention._

"_Jane," Maura said with a smile. Looking up the smile she had knowing she was getting a surprise visit from her girlfriend, lover or whatever it was they were going to refer to each other disappeared when she saw the look on Jane's face. "What's wrong?" she asked immediately._

"_Can you be done for the day?" Jane asked._

"_If you need me to be," Maura said instantly. Jane never took time off from work so if she was asking that Maura knew something important had developed._

"_I need you to be," Jane confirmed. "Can we go to your place?"_

_Maura nodded. She didn't ask for an explanation as she knew she knew she was going to get it later. "Just let me tell Susie I'm leaving." One of the perks of being the boss was that she really could come and go as she wanted._

"_I'll meet you there," Jane said turning to leave the office._

"_I'll be right behind you," Maura said as she picked up the phone on her desk to find senior criminalist Chang._

R&I

"_I can't believe Detective Crowe would do something like this," Maura said shaking her head in disbelief. The man was a narcissistic ass but she never thought he would be involved with the mob._

"_I never liked the guy," Jane answered. If fact he was one of the few people at the station Jane actively disliked. "But I wouldn't have guessed this either."_

_Jane had recapped everything Sean had told her to Maura. She showed Maura the emails Alex had managed to find and unencrypt. Given the content of those emails there wasn't a chance of some misunderstanding. Crowe was in bed with the mob. Only they had no idea which family._

_Then Jane started to walk Maura through the plan. Sean and Jane had discussed the emails, their meaning and how they might be able to use what they knew against Crowe. They had Crowe dead to rights. One call to Internal Affairs and Crowe's career would be over and he'd be looking at conspiracy charges. But this was bigger than just Crowe. There was still the outside source he was communicating with and that source was the hacker. _

_Sean, Jane and Alex wanted the source of the external breach. Sean and Jane knew getting the source would be the only way to ensure the information about Maura and Patrick never came to light. To move on Crowe wasn't good enough. Whichever mob family was behind it all could just as easily find a new detective and they would be back to square one. For Maura to be safe, they needed to get the source._

_It was Crowe's own words that helped formulate their plan. Crowe's correspondence with the source had increased dramatically after the attempted breach had failed. In essence, the source wanted Crowe to get close to either Jane or Maura in an attempt to discover what labs had been deleted by Maura._

_Unfortunately for Crowe, he had to admit to the source that both Jane and Maura disliked him immensely and he doubted that either would give him the time of day. Jane actually snickered at that when she read it because it couldn't have been truer. And that was before she knew he was a snake._

_In those emails Crowe went on to point out that getting information out of either of the two would be difficult. According to Crowe the two were inseparable both at work and in their private lives. He was in the middle of discussing the feasibility of someone else attempting to interact with Maura or Jane to gain information when Crowe mentioned that it would be difficult since no one could ever find one without the other._

_Jane had guessed with Cavanaugh that the source would try to gain access to the desired files again. It had been a guess but reading through Crowe's emails it turned out not to be a guess at all. The source and Crowe talked about a second attempt. Only the next time they tried to gain access into the system it wouldn't be done remotely. Crowe had already warned the source against another remote attempt. The source conceded that because of detection another remote attempt would be too risky. The second effort to gain access to Jane and Maura's files would be done in person._

_That had given Jane the idea for the plan. If the two were fighting, if the two suddenly weren't together all the time, Jane thought that would be enough to entice the source to send in that 'other' person to take advantage of the fact that the two weren't together all the time. If they could fake a disagreement and have Crowe believe that neither was speaking to the other, Jane was sure he would report that to the source._

_Alex had promised to work with Sean. He understood the need to find the external source. He didn't know the personal investment both Jane and Maura had in that but Sean had gotten Alex to agree to keep the investigation into Crowe's activities quiet while they worked to identify the source. Sean told Jane he was sure Alex would offer any assistance needed if they found a way to trap whoever the source would send to make the attempt in person. _

_Maura didn't like the idea of lying. She wasn't even sure she would be able to fake a fight with Jane. Jane understood Maura's hesitation. The woman broke out in hives sometimes just thinking about telling a lie. But as they talked about their options, Maura had no choice but to agree that this was their best shot at trying to end all of the drama quickly._

_Jane pointed out that they didn't really need to fight. Jane knew the station rumor mill and just how easy it would be to manipulate people into thinking the two had a falling out. Jane insisted that the most Maura would really need to do was not speak to Jane or about Jane to others. Coupled with Jane not talking to or about Maura would pretty much cover it. Even that kind of change in their day to day routine would have the station abuzz with rumors._

_That's all they needed. They just needed Crowe to believe they had a fight in order for him to report that back to the source. Then, if they were lucky, the source would send in whoever he believed would be able to get close enough to either Jane or Maura to attempt to gain access to the files in person. If they handled it all correctly, Jane was even hoping that things would come to a head in only a few days._

_Maura reluctantly agreed and wanted to know when they would start. Jane had to admit she had already started. She then told Maura about her conversation with Frost. Maura seemed to understand a little more about how they would manage the people around them. Avoiding questions and subtle implications that something was wrong did seem to have a chance of working._

_There was one last thing Jane needed to discuss with Maura before she wanted to spend the rest of the night in bed with woman she loved. They both seemed to realize that if they were about to have an epic 'fight' their time together after that night would be limited until everything was resolved._

_But they needed to agree on one more thing. Doyle. Jane needed to speak with him and to do that she was going to have to use the phone he had given Maura._

"_He wants information about the investigation," Maura said._

"_I won't give that to him," Jane replied. "But you and I both know that none of this will be necessary if Doyle is the one trying to access the files. We have to find out for sure."_

"_And you think he's just going to tell you? A Boston homicide detective," Maura asked._

"_I don't think it's him," Jane insisted._

"_Why not?" Maura asked not sure why Jane felt that way._

"_Because I think he made his move," Jane said. "He played at you. I don't think he takes you and hands you a cell phone if he was the one trying to nose around in the files."_

_Maura hadn't considered that and felt Jane had a valid point. "So you think it's another family," Maura said._

"_Sadly, I do," Jane admitted. "I just don't think we are going to be that lucky that the hacker was on Doyle's payroll. It'll end up being another family and that means you are in trouble. If you are in real danger and I can convince Doyle that you are, I think he'll tell me the truth. He may even be able to help."_

"_I don't want his help," Maura insisted._

"_I don't want his help either," Jane agreed. "But I'm willing to admit I may need it." They had been sitting on Maura's couch talking about everything. Jane reached over and pulled Maura into her and held her tightly for a few moments. "I can't let anything happen to you," she said. "I'd never make it without you."_

_She was certain of that. She just couldn't see how she would be able to live without Maura in her life. Maura had always been important to her. From the minute they met. And over the years Maura's place in Jane's life just grew larger and larger. Two nights ago they became lovers. Last night they both realized it was something more than just sex. Maura was Jane's everything and she wasn't about to lose that._

"_Jane," Maura sighed not sure what to say next._

"_We're walking into his world now Maura," Jane said. "Like it or not we are about to go down that rabbit hole. He understands that world. He has contacts and access to information we will never have. I'll never like it but this isn't about what I like. It's always only ever going to be about what we need. And we are going to need him."_

"_He's a criminal," Maura said as if pointing that out to Jane would matter somehow._

"_I know exactly what he is," Jane stated. "Right now I just don't care." She released her embrace of the ME only to shift enough to be able to look Maura directly in the eyes. "I love you," she said. It felt so easy and simple and right to say. Like it was the most natural expression in the world._

_Maura stared back at Jane and didn't even try to stop the smile that washed over her when she heard what Jane had just said. She felt her heart swell with emotions all of which only confirmed one thing for her. She felt it too. "I love you too."_

_They got a little lost in each other's eyes almost as if they could see into the very soul of the other. Both only found love everywhere they looked. Maura leaned into Jane and captured her lips. The kiss was sweet and tender simply meant to give a physical touch to the emotions that coursed through them._

_There'd be time to explore their love soon. They both knew it. But first Jane needed to continue to try to protect the woman she loved. When the kiss ended Jane spoke._

"_I need the phone Maura."_

_Maura nodded and went to retrieve it. She wasn't going to like any of this either but she had finally found in Jane was she had sought her entire life. She found her love. She certainly wasn't about to give that up without a fight._


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_Jane's conversation with Doyle was brief. She was sure he was surprised to be hearing from her and not Maura but to his credit he didn't let his voice betray him. Jane couldn't help but be somewhat impressed and she got a small glimpse of how the man had been able to maintain his power base for as long as he had. _

"_So?" Maura asked. She was sitting next to Jane for the entire conversation but she wasn't able to hear Patrick's side so she was unsure of some of the details. She had only heard Jane agreeing to meet with him._

"_So I meet with him tomorrow morning," she said. She had to fight not to shake her head. She had to be crazy agreeing to meet with a wanted mob boss alone._

"_Where?" Maura asked._

"_South Boston," Jane replied._

"_I'm going with you," Maura stated._

"_Like hell you are," Jane replied back immediately. _

_They stared at each other without talking for a few moments. It was quickly becoming a battle of wills and in this case Maura never stood a chance. She caved first._

"_Jane," she sighed. "You can't go by yourself."_

"_I can. And I will," Jane answered. "There just isn't another option right now. Who am I supposed to bring with me? Cavanaugh?"_

_Maura knew Jane was right. If they told Cavanaugh they had means of reaching Doyle Maura was certain he would want to try to arrest Doyle. Then they would never learn anything from him. And even if he didn't try to arrest the mob boss, Maura knew that there was no way Patrick would tell Jane anything if she was with another cop._

"_Let me come with you," she tried again. She just didn't want Jane going alone. She didn't trust Doyle at all._

"_Not an option Maura," Jane said. "The man took you once already. And once was enough. I'm not letting him within 100 feet of you ever again."_

_Maura felt oddly comforted by Jane's protective streak even if it was going to drive her crazy that she wasn't going to be able to be with Jane. "We are in this together," Maura pointed out trying a different approach to the argument._

"_We most certainly are," Jane agreed. "You're still not coming with me for this." Jane's mind was set and on this point there was going to be no changing her mind._

_Maura knew it but didn't like it. She had a bad feeling that this was just the beginning of her having to do many things she didn't like. None of this was going to be easy on her. Or them for that matter._

"_So," she said, "you meet with him and talk. Then what?"_

"_If he tells me he's the one snooping around the servers I'll explain he needs to stop drawing attention to my case or your labs," Jane said. She still didn't think it was Doyle. "If he says it isn't him, the two of us are going to have to talk about trying to figure out who it might be. Like I said, this is his world we are dealing with. He's got to have some idea who was behind Colin's death."_

"_Do you really think he will tell you?" she asked. She didn't know what to think and at times like this she found she relied upon Jane's ability to understand human nature better than her own understanding._

"_I think," Jane quietly and took Maura's hand in hers, "that if the man has followed you throughout your life, I think that means he cares about you. He may even love you as much as a man like that can love anyone." She looked at Maura and smiled. "If he cares about you, he'll want to do anything he can to help you."_

_Maura was quiet. She just didn't know what to think or how to feel. She didn't know this man. She was fairly certain she didn't ever want to know this man. The notion that he cared for her or even loved her seemed ridiculous to her._

_But she saw the pictures and there was something in Doyle's eyes when she asked him about them that she just couldn't dismiss. He could have just walked away from her the minute she was given up for adoption. But clearly he hadn't and maybe, just maybe, that did mean something. _

"_Hey," Jane said and pulled Maura into an embrace. She could feel the ME starting to get lost in her own head. "It'll all work out," she said and pressed her lips against Maura's temple. "I promise," she added. With her life she promised._

_Maura tightened her arms around Jane and just enjoyed feeling that close to the detective. Safe. No matter the chaos happening around them Maura found that if she was with Jane she inevitably felt safe. She loved that about the detective._

"_Do we really have to stop seeing each other tomorrow?" she asked in a quiet voice. She wasn't looking forward to that part of the plan either._

"_Unfortunately," Jane answered. 'But the sooner people think there is an issue between us the sooner Crowe will tell his source. I'm sure it'll only be for a couple of days," she tried to reassure. The source seemed desperate for information so Jane couldn't imagine it would take too long for them to try another attempt at getting into the servers._

"_I don't want to…" Maura started and paused. She didn't want to be doing any of this but it didn't seem as if they had a choice._

"_I don't either," Jane sympathized. The thought of not being able to see or talk to Maura all day at the station was a painful one for Jane. But she tried to tell herself it was only temporary. _

"_But we need to," Maura answered their unspoken thoughts. They could do this. It would only be temporary. _

_Jane just nodded. _

"_Can we still see each other at night?" Maura asked. They'd been together for the last two nights and Maura found she loved waking up to a naked Jane in her bed. She wasn't ready for that to end. _

"_I don't think we can," Jane answered. "We can't go through all of this only to have someone see my car parked in your driveway later."_

"_You're right," Maura conceded. The way things were going for them it would just be their luck to get discovered by someone right before they were to make progress with Crowe._

_Jane got a small grin on her face and looked at Maura. "We still have tonight," she pointed out. They didn't have to really start playing off there was a problem between them until tomorrow._

_Maura returned the smile and stood up. She reached out and took Jane's hand in hers and pulled Jane up from the couch. With Jane in hand Maura started to head towards the stairs. "Then we aren't going to waste the time we have," she said as she started to climb the stairs._

_R&I_

_Nothing about their third night together was rushed. They both seemed to realize that this time together was meant to be savored and each wanted to take things at a deliberate pace. The walk up Maura's stairs had felt more like a stroll than a race to get to her bedroom. Jane deliberately stayed a step behind the ME, hands still linked, but letting her admire the beauty of the woman walking in front of her._

_Maura really was stunningly beautiful. Jane at times was just in awe of the woman. Jane knew if she ever needed any proof of perfection, Maura was that proof. She had it all. Looks, brains and a heart that amazed Jane at its depth. How it was that someone like Maura wanted anything at all to do with someone like her she would never quite understand. But she did. Maura was Jane's and Jane knew exactly how lucky she truly was._

_They made their way to Maura's bedroom without much conversation. They'd talked enough for one day. Each just wanted to be with the other. It wasn't until they got into the bedroom that Jane stopped walking causing Maura to stop as well. Jane tugged on Maura's arm and pulled the ME into her. Their lips met for the first time that night._

_The kiss was full and intense. Jane tried to keep her focus on just how soft Maura's lips felt against her own. Maura tried to remember if she had ever responded to a kiss the way in which she responded to a kiss from Jane. It didn't take much for her to know that answer was a firm 'no'. She was sure no one had ever made her feel the things Jane seemed capable of making her feel._

_Jane's hand managed to find its way into Maura hair trying to pull her in even closer. Maura's hands wrapped themselves around Jane's back running up and down just trying to feel any part of the detective she could. It was Maura who first traced her tongue across the bottom of Jane's lip wanting access. Jane granted access without hesitation and they let the kiss evolve into a tangled dance of tongues both exploring and seeking out whatever territory they could._

_Jane decided as much as she had loved everything they had done together over the past few days, kissing Maura could very well be something that she could do for the rest of her life. She knew she would never tire of the sensations she felt as Maura's tongue ran across her own and their lips continued to stay pressed firmly against each other. For the rest of her life. That would do quite well for her._

_Since their kissing didn't seem to be a frenzied battle for dominance, both found that they could sustain the lip action without running too close to the edge of needing oxygen. They had to remind themselves from time to time to actually breathe but when they allowed themselves to do so, they didn't need to break contact with each other as that seemed to be the very last thing they wanted to do that night._

_They lost time just letting their lips explore and express everything that they were feeling in that moment and for each other. It perhaps was the most intimate experience either had ever really felt._

_It was Maura who finally let her hands drift up and start to work on Jane's shirt. She grabbed just enough on both sides of Jane to be able to gently pull the shirt out from the detective's pants. They both were slightly breathless and realizing Maura's hands had started to work on Jane's shirt seemed to give them a reason to finally break the connection their lips had. They stepped back from each other just enough to give Maura the room she needed to work on Jane's shirt. _

_She slowly reached up and started with the top button on Jane's shirt. Her fingers worked to undo each button one at a time at an agonizingly slow pace. Maura was not in any hurry at all. Not on this night. When she finally got all the buttons on Jane's shirt undone she pushed it off Jane's shoulders and let it fall to the floor. She then took Jane's camisole in her hands and untucked that from her pants as well._

_Watching Maura slowly undress her was perhaps the sexiest thing Jane had ever seen. That was until Maura made her next move. She dropped down to one knee and slowly pushed Jane's camisole up so she could kiss the skin she had just exposed. The minute Maura's lips made contact with Jane's abs her breath hitched. The sensation was like a jolt running through her._

_Maura kissed around Jane's skin for a while working her way around all that she had access to. When she seemed done with that she moved her hands to undo the buckle of Jane's belt sliding the end out and separating it from the buckle. She then undid the button on Jane's pants and slowly moved the zipper down. The now loosened pants drooped but didn't fall instead resting on Jane's hips._

_Jane had expected Maura to push her pants downward or that was at least what she wanted to happen but Maura seemed content with just treating the newly exposed skin above Jane's hips and below her waistline in the exact same manner she treated Jane's abs. She kissed what was available to her paying special attention to Jane's hipbones when she felt Jane shudder from her touch._

_Leaving Jane's waistline and standing back up Maura looked at Jane and smiled. "Up," she said quietly and Jane understood what Maura wanted. She complied and raised her arms up above her head. Maura took ahold of the bottom of Jane's camisole and pulled it up over Jane's head and let it settle onto the floor joining Jane's previously discarded shirt. _

_Maura then started walking behind Jane who instinctively tried to turn with Maura. "Stay," Maura requested and Jane complied. Maura continued to circle around Jane and brush her hair off her shoulder exposing Jane's neck. Maura wasted no time in placing a series of kisses onto Jane's neck and shoulders all the while slowly stroking her hands up and down Jane's sides. Jane's only reaction continued to be a series of shudders and shivers in response to Maura's touch._

_Once she was done letting her lips admire the back of Jane's neck and shoulder area she reached up and undid the clasp on Jane's bra. Within seconds the garment found its way onto the ever growing pile of clothes gathering around Jane's feet. Maura kissed up and down Jane's shoulder blades before she went to circle back around to face Jane._

_Standing there with her upper body exposed and her pants one good tug away from letting gravity remove those from her, Jane would have thought she would feel awkward or subconscious. She was never very comfortable letting previous lovers stare at her. But with Maura, there was no shyness. No vulnerability. There was just Maura and Jane found she was perfectly comfortable with everything Maura was doing with and to her._

"_Gorgeous," Maura mumbled as she found herself facing Jane again. "You are beautiful," she told Jane looking her in the eye to ensure Jane truly understood Maura meant what she was saying._

_Jane couldn't think of a single response so she remained quiet. _

_Her silence was rewarded with Maura once again making physical contact with her body only this time her focus was Jane's breasts. Maura reached out gently cupping each of Jane's breasts letting their weight settle in her hands. She ran her thumbs over Jane's hardening nipples once, twice. Gauging Jane's reaction Maura rolled each nipple between her thumb and forefinger. That action elicited the first moan from Jane on the night. She'd managed to hold in the sounds of her pleasure until that moment._

_Maura leaned in and placed her lips over first one and then the other nipple each time letting her tongue run circles around the sensitive flesh. Jane moaned again and Maura couldn't help smile knowing she was responsible for the noises Jane was making._

_Too soon for Jane's liking, Maura backed away from her and took in the woman standing in front of her. Her breathing was slightly labored and her skin was flushed. Maura took a step in towards Jane but resisted the urge to kiss her again. Instead, she let her hands find their way to Jane's hips. From there she made sure she had ahold of the fabric of both Jane's pants and panties. She pushed what material she had down and slowly Jane's last two items of clothing fell off her hips and dropped down to the ground pooling around her ankles. In seconds she had stepped out of that pool and stood in front of Maura completely naked._

_Maura took a step back and admired her handiwork. Jane was incredibly beautiful but a naked Jane was a sight Maura could see every day of her life and be content._

"_My turn," Jane announced as Maura seemed to get lost just taking in the sight of Jane. What was good for Maura would now be good for Jane and it was now Jane's turn to disrobe the ME. _

_Jane put her hands on Maura's hips and pulled her into a passionate kiss. She'd gone too long without being able to touch Maura and now that it was her turn she was going to make up for that lost time. Their kiss was searing and Jane had a hard time stopping it but she needed to start to work the ME out of her clothes._

_Her task was going to be easier than Maura's. Maura was wearing a dress so there just weren't as many layers to work her out of but Jane was determined to enjoy herself while she tackled the task. She walked behind Maura and returned the favor by brushing Maura's hair off her shoulder exposing her neck. Jane spent some time working her lips over the exposed area. She traced small patterns with her tongue and let her teeth nip at the skin a few times. Each time eliciting a shiver from the woman._

_When she was temporarily done with Maura's neck, she let her fingers reach up and find the zipper to Maura's dress. She slowly pulled down on the zipper only stopping about halfway down. She let the dress start to fall off Maura's shoulders. Inching her hand off the zipper she rubbed the exposed skin with her hands and peppered soft kisses across Maura's back. She then finished unzipping the dress and it fell unceremoniously onto the ground. _

_Maura stepped out the dress pooled around her ankles and had expected Jane to undo her bra. Instead, the detective circled around in front of Maura and cupped Maura's breast with her hands. She ran her thumbs across each still fabric covered breast and squeezed the flesh. She then reached up and pulled the fabric away from one of Maura's breasts exposing flesh for the first time._

_Jane wasted no time letting her mouth come into contact with Maura's breast. She took in as much as of Maura as she could and spent time just letting her tongue and teeth work over what she did. After some time she reached around Maura and unfastened the clasp loosening the bra enough that she barely had to tug on it to get it to fall off the ME._

_Jane then backed Maura up towards the bed. Maura sensed what Jane wanted and she sunk down onto the bed pulling herself up towards the head of the bed. Once she was settled Jane proceeded to crawl up the bed hovering over her. That was a visual Maura knew she wouldn't forget. Ever. Jane got close enough to pull Maura in for another searing kiss. She wanted to get lost in that kiss but she knew Maura still had one more article of clothing she needed to remove from her._

_Jane broke off the kiss and slowly travelled back down Maura's body letting her lips blaze a path. When she got to Maura's hips she simply hooked Maura's panties around one of her fingers and she pulled down. Maura assisted by lifting her hips and just like that Maura was void of her clothes as well._

_Jane worked her way back up to Maura and finally let her body press against Maura's. Flesh on flesh contact with no barriers felt wonderful to them both. With nothing to stop them, they both started to just let lips and hands explore any and all skin that was available to them. Each just savoring the feel and the taste of the other. Both wanted to memorize every inch of the woman she loved._

_They took their time that night. Each finding new ways to please the other. Lips, tongue and teeth exploring the curves of the body they would press down to the bed. Hands and fingers exploring not only the outer form but pressing deep within the other. Fingers pumping in and out at varying speeds. Fingers curling in just the right way to push the woman over the edge. Tongues replacing fingers and penetrating deeper than either really thought possible only to have those tongues eventually work their way towards the throbbing and sensitive pearl with just enough pressure to cause names to be screamed and deities to be acknowledged. _

_Over and over. _

_All night long._

_They didn't waste a moment of their night together. The night had simply been about expressing their love for each other._

_Tomorrow would come. Jane's meeting with Doyle. Their supposed 'fight'. The continuing Investigation into Colin's murder. The investigation into discovering who the mystery external source Crowe was working with. All of that would come. _

_In that room…in that bed…on that night…Jane and Maura did absolutely everything they could to stop time. Even if only for a few precious hours._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Cavanaugh was quick to answer the knock on his door. In truth, the man had been pacing back and forth across his living room so much he was sure he was wearing out the carpet. He paced when he was nervous and given what he was about to do that night he was definitely nervous. So when he heard the approaching footsteps outside of his doorway, he almost didn't let Alex's fist hit the door.

"Jesus Sean," Alex exclaimed. "Were you just standing on the other side of the door waiting for me?" The door opening as quickly as it had startled the veteran officer. "I'm not late," he also pointed out.

"No," Sean admitted, "you're not late. Sorry. I'm just a little on edge." Sean stepped aside and invited Alex inside. Alex was carrying a duffle bag Sean knew contained everything they were going to need for their evening.

Alex took in his friend and could see the tension in his face. Actually, he could see the tension in Sean's entire body. "Sean, we don't have to do this," Alex pointed out. "We can try to think of another way."

Sean shook his head vehemently. They were going to do this. "No. I'm fine," he said only marginally convincingly. "This needs to be done. We all agreed to that."

They had too. Jane, and by extension Maura, Sean and Alex all had a long discussion about how to handle everything. It had been quite a colorful debate. But in the end it was decided that this was their best available option to not only handle Crowe and the external source but also protect Maura. Jane had been insistent that any plan of action had to cover protecting Maura and Sean couldn't blame for her that.

Sean looked at his friend and couldn't remember a time he had been more appreciative of any person. Alex was risking a lot to help him and he really didn't even know what was at stake. Sean and Jane had agreed to withhold Maura's paternity from Alex. Jane was just unwilling to add even one other person to the list of people who knew who her biological father was. The entire point of everything they were trying to do was to keep that information from ever seeing the light of day.

So Alex wasn't told. Instead, they focused on what they could tell him. They focused on Detective Crowe being a dirty cop. They focused on the external source being one of the Irish mob families. They focused on the fact that whichever family was behind the failed hacking would be sending into the station a federal agent, also on the take, who would attempt to gain access to files from inside the station. And they focused on the fact that Crowe seemed fixated at using Maura or Jane to gain information.

All of that was true and enough to convince Alex to help set up a trap for Crowe, the federal agent and the external source. They just kept from Alex what the federal agent would find if he ever gained access to the files. He didn't know that if the federal agent found the lab results Maura had deleted those results not only confirmed Colin was Patrick's son but they would show that Maura was Patrick's daughter. All of that was need to know and Alex just didn't need to know.

"I have everything we are going to need," Alex said holding up the duffle bag he brought. He had to admit he was kind of excited. He hadn't been a part of anything this 'cloak and dagger' in too many years. He loved his job but most of his responsibilities nowadays were administrative. This attempted security breach had been the first time in almost two years he had personally seen to an investigation. He missed the rush he used to get as an officer and a detective. His world was almost entirely a desk job now.

"Alex," Sean said and paused. He needed to thank his friend for what the man was willing to do. "I don't know if I know how to thank you for this," he admitted. Just saying it didn't feel like enough.

Alex smiled. Sean was a good man and a better friend. In the years they'd known each other he'd only asked for a favor one other time. So when Sean came to him for help a few weeks ago Alex knew the circumstances were extraordinary even though Sean wouldn't tell him all of the details. But he would do anything he could to help his friend. Including this.

"You don't need to thank me," Alex said with sincerity. That wasn't why he had agreed to help. "Things like this," he pointed out, "this is why you have friends."

Sean nodded but still didn't feel as if that was enough. But for now he couldn't really do anything about that but he would think of something later. "Alright," he said and looked at his watch. "We should head out. Unless something goes seriously wrong we should have plenty of time to get this done."

Alex nodded and turned to head for the door. "She's going to signal the all clear I assume," Alex asked as he waited for Sean to lock his front door and they headed out the Alex's car.

"She knows to signal the all clear as well as to let us know if anything drastically changes," Sean said. He also knew to signal her when they started and when they would be done.

"Alright," Alex said as he climbed into the driver's seat. "Let's get this show on the road."

R&I

Promptly as 8 pm there was a knock on Jane's apartment door. She'd been pacing back and forth for at least an hour. She paced when she was nervous and given how she was planning on spending her evening she was definitely nervous. Poor Jo finally had given up trying to keep up with her. Jo must have decided that Jane's pacing all throughout the apartment was some sort of game because for about the first twenty minutes Jo was right at Jane's heel and following along.

But the poor pup tired out and probably couldn't understand the point of what her owner was doing. There was no new toy or treat at the end of any path. They just kept making laps. Finally enough was enough for the dog and she just hopped up on the couch and watched her owner continue to pace around the apartment.

Jo was the first one to the door when she heard the knocking. She was hoping it was the pretty blond. She hadn't seen that lady in a really long time and she hadn't even been taken over to that other place that felt like home. She hadn't been able to play with the big turtle in so long she was afraid he would forget who she was. Jo barked when the knocking on the door turned out not to be the pretty blond.

Jane agreed with Jo's sentiments. She wasn't happy to see Dean either but she put on her best fake smile as she opened the door knowing she was going to have to 'enjoy' the night. All of this was for Maura which Jane kept reminding herself. It would be the silent mantra running through her head the entire evening.

"Hey," Jane greeted the agent with a smile. She stepped aside and invited him into her apartment.

"These are for you," Dean said with a smile handing over a bouquet of roses to Jane.

He looked so smug as he handed them to her she wanted to smack him. But she resisted the urge. It was going to be a long night. "What happened to 'just dinner'?" Jane asked pointedly.

Dean gave a sheepish grin. "I couldn't resist," he said. "There's a florist right across from my hotel."

Jane took the flowers but gave a scolding look. "This is just dinner Gabe," she warned. "You are going to need to do a better job at resisting for the rest of the night." Otherwise she might have to break the weasel in two.

Dean held up his hands and admitted defeat. "Just a friendly dinner. Promise," he tried to convince Jane he was sincere.

Jane took the flowers into the kitchen to put them in water. Thankfully, Dean didn't follow her as he stayed in the living room area. "How was the rest of your day?" she called out as she ran some water.

He started talking and Jane was only half listening. She needed to take advantage of the moment of privacy she had. She grabbed her phone and text a quick text to Sean.

_Labs came back positive_

She shook her head as she sent the text. Between her burner phone and the rendezvouses with Maura and text messages to Sean that said everything but what she really meant Jane again wondered how her life started to play out like a spy novel. But she had given the signal to Sean and that was all that mattered. She clipped her phone back to her hip, placed the roses in water and rejoined Dean in the living room as he was still carrying on about something.

"…Bristol police may have a new lead that looks promising. So hopefully that will pan out and they can steer their investigation in a new direction," he finished his statement as Jane reentered the living room. "Did you manage to get your paperwork complete?" He was hopeful so Jane wouldn't want to just eat and be brought straight home.

Jane smiled. "I did," she said. "I can't say I was real happy to have to write the summaries that quickly but if it means the DA will end up making a deal then I suppose it's a small price to pay."

"So you think the case will plead?" Dean asked.

"I do," Jane said and not simply because they had in fact worked out a plea agreement two months ago. She had known a deal was likely for the case prior to the DA agreeing to one. "The evidence is solid so a trial won't really do him any good. He won't get much by way of jury sympathy. I'd guess somewhere in the neighborhood of Man 1 and 10-12." The Abbott case did settle for that exactly. First degree manslaughter and 10-12 years with credit for time served.

"It's got to be frustrating to always have to watch the DAs office play 'let's make a deal'," Dean pointed out.

"That's how the system works," Jane answered back. "But the US Attorney does that more often than a State's Attorney so you should know the drill."

"True," Dean pointed out. "But I handle primarily white collar investigations. You handle homicide. There's a big difference between dealing with fraud versus dealing with murder."

Jane had to resist the urge to make a comment. It really was going to be a long night and she was going to have to watch her tongue closely. "It is what it is," Jane said wanting to let the topic go.

She was going to have a hard time maintaining eye contact with him knowing he was on the payroll of a mob family. There was a difference between fraud and murder but Jane wondered if Dean even respected those lines anymore.

"Let's not talk too much shop tonight," Dean said perhaps sensing Jane didn't want to discuss their current topic any further. "Are you ready to head out?"

Jane was happy for the subject change. "Yeah," she said. "Just let me get my jacket. Where are we going?" she asked.

Dean smiled. "Carmen's in the North End."

Jane smiled. She was going to hate the evening. She was going to hate the company she was keeping. But at least she was going to get a decent meal out of the night. Carmen's had excellent food.

"Perfect," she said. She grabbed her jacket and headed towards the door. She turned to look at Jo. "Be good," she said and Jo wagged her tail as if it promise to. She then barked once at the man who wasn't the pretty blond and returned to her place on the couch. Maybe tomorrow she'd get to visit the big turtle.

R&I

_Labs came back positive_

Sean looked at his phone and had to laugh at the lengths to which they were trying to stay undetected. Even their text messages had become cryptic.

"Alright," Sean said looking at Alex. "He's with Jane so the coast is clear for us."

Both men got out of the car and Alex grabbed his duffle bag. They headed into the hotel skipping the front desk and heading straight to the elevators. Sean had run Dean the morning he had made his appearance at the station so he was aware of which hotel, and what room number, the agent was registered. That he could do. Managing to get into Dean's room was part of Alex's responsibilities that night.

They made their way up to the seventh floor and got out of the elevator. Both men looked around and were glad to find the hallway empty. Sean had in his jacket pocket an impressive looking, all be it completely fake, search warrant on the off chance they were caught and questioned by hotel management. He just didn't want to have to use it being afraid that someone would mention to Dean a search warrant was executed on his room. This whole 'mission' depended on their ability to get in and out of Dean's room undetected. Comments about search warrants certainly wouldn't leave them undetected.

They walked down the hallway until they stood in front of room 719. That was when Alex went to work. He put down the duffle bag and unzipped it. He fished around for the device he was looking for and pulled it out. Cavanaugh just watched him and occasionally the hallway looking for people. He didn't understand much about computers, even less about hacking and absolutely nothing about any of the equipment Alex had explained he would need to use in order to pull everything off.

Alex pulled out a gadget that looked like an iPhone with a two wires attached to it. One wire looked like it was meant to plug into something and the other wire was attached to what looked like a generic hotel room keycard. Alex ran his finger underneath the lock to the room until he found what he was looking for. He then took the wire that looked like a plug and inserted it into what Sean assumed was some sort of port. Alex then slid the generic keycard into the lock. Powering on the smart phone apparatus Alex simply smiled at Sean as in less than a second the green light on the lock flashed and Alex opened the hotel room door.

Sean shook his head. That was the quickest he'd ever seen a lock 'picked'. "Makes me miss the days of actual keys," he muttered as they both entered the hotel room.

Alex quickly unplugged his device and closed the door wanting to get out of the hallway. "Tumbler locks are easier to pick than electronic ones," Alex pointed out. "You need an open source programmer and the right software to get into these."

"I still miss actual keys," he said again. All this technology stuff was sometimes just a bit too much for him. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Jane to signal that they were in Dean's hotel room.

_I'll review the results and confirm_

He returned his phone to his hip and walked into the room. Alex was soon to follow after he slid the 'privacy' latch on the door. That was their best line of defense in case Dean returned to the hotel and Jane wasn't able to signal them. With the privacy latch engaged, Dean's keycard would not work in the door and he would be forced to return to the front desk to request a new key. That would allow them the time to get out of room undetected and Dean would just assume there was a defect with his room key.

Both men looked around Dean's hotel room. The man was pretty tidy and it made finding what they were looking for easier. They needed access to his laptop and any flash drives they could find. Looking at the desk in the corner of the room, Sean pointed out to Alex that there was a leather shoulder bag sitting on the desk chair.

Sean went to touch the bag but Alex stopped him. "Wait," Alex said as he pulled out his iPhone. He took a picture of the desk area including the chair and shoulder bag before nodding to Sean. "Everything needs to get put back exactly as we found it," Alex pointed out. They would take several 'before' photos to ensure everything from the position and contents of the bag to the overall desk area was perfect before they would leave.

They found a laptop and three flash drives in Dean's shoulder bag. "What do you want to do first?" Sean asked.

"The laptop first," Dean said. He took a seat at the desk and again rifled through the duffle bag. Looking up at Sean he said, "Go check all of his coat and pants pockets for any other flash drives." There was a chance they wouldn't find them all. After all Dean could have one or more on him right now but they would check what they could find.

"On it," Sean said and he went towards the closet area of the room.

While Sean continued to look around, Alex flipped over the laptop and started removing the screws. He took his time as he didn't want to scratch or scuff any of the screws in case Dean routinely checked this. But he got the screws removed and he popped off the back cover of the laptop exposing the laptop's hard drive.

He carefully removed the hard drive from the laptop and set it on the desk. He then set aside Dean's laptop and pulled out a laptop of his own from the duffle bag. This one he turned on and entered his password to launch his operating system. As his laptop loaded, Alex pulled out an external hard drive and a wire which he used to tether the external drive to Dean's hard drive. He then connected his external drive to his laptop.

By now Sean had checked pockets, jackets, suitcase pockets and even dresser drawers in the room. He found one more flash drive in a jacket pocket in the closet. He walked over to Alex and set the fourth flash drive down. He then took a seat and watched his friend and computer expert work his magic.

Alex started the program that would copy Dean's hard drive to the external drive it was now tethered to. Thankfully, that process didn't take too long. Once copied, Alex disconnected the external hard drive and carefully placed that back in his duffle bag. He then tethered Dean's hard drive directly to his laptop and opened a software program.

"So I get what you just did with the other hard drive," Sean said. "But what are you doing now?"

He knew Alex had just copied Dean's entire drive so they could examine the contents of anything he kept on it later. Their hope was that he stored incriminating documents or evidence on the drive they could use against him. Given that they had in fact broken into the Dean's room and were accessing everything illegally, none of the information they found would ever be able to be used against Dean in court but it could potentially tell them who Dean was working for or what he may still have planned.

"Now I'm about to add a rootkit to his drive," Alex said as if that would explain everything to Sean.

"A what?" Sean asked.

Alex snickered. "A rootkit," he said again. "Basically I'm giving myself access to Dean's laptop so we can monitor everything he does going forward."

"Oh, so like a virus," Sean said trying to think of things he's heard about computers and software.

"Not a virus," Alex corrected. "I'm not looking to effect the performance of his laptop or destroy any of his data. That would tip him off that something was wrong." Looking up at Sean he asked, "Have you ever heard of 'spyware'?"

"I've heard the term," Sean admitted but with no confidence that he understood what it really was.

"How do you exist in the modern world old man?" Alex asked again with a snicker. "Spyware is software that gives a remote user access to information such as internet activity, passwords and even bank or credit card information."

"Alright," Sean said. That sounded relatively familiar. "And I'm not old," he pointed out.

Alex laughed again. "You'd still have a rotary dial phone if they made them Sean. You are an old timer through and through. The problem with spyware is that it can be detected pretty easily if someone routinely scans for it which all federal agents are trained to do. So I'm installing a rootkit instead.

"A rootkit is just like spyware only it grants me administrative rights to his laptop and it won't be found during a routine scan. It's masked in a location a scan won't detect it. Once installed, I'll be able to remotely see everything Dean does with this laptop, including anything offline, and I can even change his system configurations. So in case of some sort of emergency I can lock him out of his own laptop to prevent from him trying to delete files or records."

"Wow," Sean said. All of this hacking stuff was pretty scary. He wondered if the department administrators watched everything people did on department issued laptops. He had a suspicion the answer was yes.

It didn't take long for Alex to install the rootkit to Dean's hard drive. He disconnected everything and went about the task of reinstalling the drive and reassembling Dean's laptop. Again, he took care not to scratch or scuff any of the screws.

"That just leaves the flash drives," he said. This was the part they was hoping to get lucky with. When they talked about someone attempting to gain server access in person, Alex theorized on how that might happen.

The easiest way would be for someone to gain access to a computer on the BPD network and either pull files immediately or install either a rootkit or a bot of their own to access remotely later. If time was an issue, which everyone agreed would be the case as no one felt the agent would be left alone long enough to manually search through computer files while at the station, it would be most probable that the agent would just download the rootkit or bot.

That meant the agent would have to have that software available at the station which again Alex theorized meant he (or she) would most likely carry that rootkit or bot on a flash drive. No one felt the agent would carry around a laptop and tethering wires. That would be too impractical. The flash drive was the easiest way to go.

So now Alex was going to try to find the rootkit or bot on one of the four flash drives they had found in Dean's room. If Alex could find it he could make a copy of it and that's what they needed. So one by one, Alex checked the contents of the flash drives they found. The first three, all from Dean's shoulder bag, contained miscellaneous files but no software programs.

Alex plugged the last flash drive, the one from Dean's jacket pocket, into the USB port and ran the analysis of the drive. He looked up at Sean and smiled.

"Got it," he said. They had found the bot.

Alex copied the bot onto a flash drive he pulled from the duffle bag. Once copied he handed it to Sean. "This is all she will need to give to him," he said.

Sean took the drive and nodded. Jane's computer expert was certain he could manage the last part of the plan.

They reassembled everything in the exact place they had found it all. They even triple checked the photos on Alex's phone. When they were sure nothing was out of place, they packed up Alex's equipment and headed out of the hotel.

Once down in the car, Sean pulled out his phone and sent the all clear signal to Jane.

_Results were what we wanted_

Jane would know exactly what he meant by that.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_Jane looked out across the Boston skyline. She loved the city. She couldn't imagine living anywhere else. She actually would come up onto the roof every now and again just to get away from it all. She found the skyline oddly comforting. A reminder that no matter how crazy or chaotic life could get there were things in the world that were stable and could always be counted on. _

_Instead of just a retreat from the world, Jane was once again on the roof awaiting to meet with Cavanaugh. She didn't have to wait long as he opened the door and joined her. _

"_What do you know?" he asked._

"_It's not Doyle," Jane said. _

_Sean looked at Jane and realized she wasn't guessing. "Do I even want to know how you managed to find him?" he asked._

_Jane shook her head. "You really don't," she said. She was hoping he wouldn't push it any further. She'd like to not have to tell him about the cell phone._

_He nodded. It wasn't something he absolutely had to know at this point so he was willing to let it go. "So now what?"_

"_Now we use Crowe and try to speed up the second attempt," Jane said. _

_She filled him on their plan to fake a fight in order to entice the source's second person. Cavanaugh was in agreement on the plan. He knew how the station rumor mill worked too. It wouldn't take much for them to have the whole station talking about the fact that Jane and Maura were fighting. He, too, thought that Crowe would report the development back to the source._

"_In the meantime, Alex is still trying to pinpoint the masked IP address," Sean said. "He knows he can come up with something but it's going to take a little while."_

_Jane nodded. "There's a chance we might be able to give him a little help," Jane said. _

"_How?" Cavanaugh asked._

"_Drew Beckett," Jane said. _

_Doyle had pointed out that Beckett could be the key to figuring out which family was behind the attempted hacking. Jane needed to speak with Beckett again to try to convince him to give them more information than he had during their first conversation._

_Sean hadn't thought about that angle. The kid did sell out Colin Doyle for $250,000. He certainly knew more than he had given to the detectives to that point. "Alright, so you talk to the kid again," he said._

_Jane nodded. "I need a little help setting it up," she said. She was still determined to keep Frost and Korsak out of the loop and that meant she would have to talk to Beckett when neither was in the station._

_Cavanaugh understood. "I can arrange to have him brought up from lockup tomorrow morning," he said. Frost and Korsak never got to the station before 9 unless they were responding to a call. He would have Beckett brought in around 7 to give Jane a chance to speak with him._

"_Thanks," Jane said. And she meant that for more than just the help with setting up an interview._

"_Let's hope he's more willing to talk than the last time you tried," Sean said._

"_Oh," she said, "He will be."_

R&I

_Jane entered the interview room to talk with Drew Beckett and she immediately knew that this conversation was going to go differently than their first conversation. It was clear that a few days in jail had turned Beckett from a cocky, confident computer whiz to a scared kid. She had watched him sitting in the room for a few minutes before going in and saw how nervous he was. She could definitely use that to her advantage._

"_Drew," she said as she entered the room and took a seat across from him._

_He didn't say anything. He wasn't sure what he was doing there but he wasn't exactly thrilled to see that it was the detective who wanted to speak with him._

"_You look like hell," Jane pointed out. He looked like he hadn't slept since his arraignment._

"_What am I doing here?" he asked with an annoyed tone._

"_We are going to talk," she said looking him in the eye._

"_We don't have anything to talk about," he said but this time his reaction to her wasn't as definitive as it had been the first time._

"_That's where you are wrong," she said and leaned back in her chair. "We have lots of things to talk about." _

"_I already told you," Beckett started but Jane cut him off._

"_You did," she admitted, "but I just don't think you really understand the position that you have found yourself in." She looked him over and then continued. "For starters, I assume your bravado from the other day had a lot to do with you thinking you were going to be able to post bond and get out of jail."_

_Beckett dropped his eyes and Jane knew she was right on that point._

"_You see Drew," she said. "In all your thinking and planning, apparently you forgot to factor in how easy it was for us to convince the judge that someone with your skills as an identity thief poses a serious flight risk. So much so that the judge denied you bail. I'm pretty sure you hadn't planned on that._

"_So those 'safe' feelings you claimed to have the other day weren't because you thought you'd be safe in jail it was because you thought you'd be able to simply disappear. Steal another identity and hide from the mob. Hide from us. But that didn't happen. Instead, you've spent the last three days in jail probably in whatever corner you could find for yourself afraid to even fall asleep."_

_If possible, Beckett sank even further into his chair. He was certain he would have been out of the country by now. He should have been granted bail for his offenses. Trespassing and possession of items with the intent to commit a felony. He should have walked away from that jail and into a new life._

_But suddenly the judge was labeling him a flight risk and the prosecution labelled him a person of interest in the Colin Doyle murder case. He wasn't leaving jail he was being placed into it. As naïve as he was he knew jail was not a safe place for him to be._

"_You have a problem, Drew," Jane pointed out. "You turned on the son of a mafia kingpin. A son who is now dead. Which means there's a father, a mobster of all things, who blames you for what happened to his son. He's blaming you because quite frankly he has no one else to blame at the moment. _

"_Your being in jail is the perfect situation for him. Doyle's reach is long. Very long. Just how long do you think it will take before someone wants to have Patrick Doyle owe them a favor? And what a favor it would be. To be the man who killed the boy who turned Doyle's son over to a rival family. Hell, I know at least three people in lock up right now that would do that for Paddy Doyle."_

_Drew squirmed in his seat. "What do you want?" he asked. He knew he was in trouble. He wouldn't last much longer in general population._

_Jane knew she had him. "For starters, I need help."_

_He looked up at her and really made eye contact for the first time since she came into the room. That had surprised him. He figured she just wanted answers about who paid him the $250k. "And in return?" he asked. _

"_In return," Jane said. "I have a nice, long conversation with the DA's office about how helpful you were in our investigation into Colin's death. So helpful in fact that I don't believe you should be labeled a person of interest anymore and we see about dropping the charge_s _against down to those misdemeanor issues." She let Drew think that over for just a moment. "You could reapply for bond," she added. She knew that would seal the deal._

"_I don't know which family contacted me," he admitted assuming that was the help the detective needed. "All of our communication was done through email and the funds were sent electronically."_

_Jane nodded and figured as much. "That's fine," she said. "I will need access to those emails and the records for the wire transfer," she said._

_After a moment Drew nodded his agreement. "What else?"_

"_Someone attempted to breach the department servers," Jane said. "Someone trying to gain access to information about Patrick and Colin Doyle. I need your help finding the person who made that attempt." _

_As good as Jane believed Alex McKenzie was she knew Drew Beckett was better. They needed to know who the external source was and Beckett was going to help them figure that out._

R&I

Dean and Jane had just been called to their table when Jane felt the vibration of the phone on her hip. Once they found the table and before Jane could that a seat she excused herself to use the restroom. Once in the restroom she pulled her phone away from her hip and read Sean's text.

_Results were what we wanted_

Jane couldn't help but both smile and breath a sigh of relief. That was the best possible news for her. If they hadn't been able to find the flash drive with the software meant to allow Dean access into the servers later in his hotel room, Jane was going to have to assume that he may have had it on his person and she would have been forced to potentially take the night further than she wanted to. But Sean had found the flash drive and Jane was off the hook on the evening.

She pulled her burner phone from her pocket and typed out a text to Maura who she knew was waiting to hear anything.

_Sean got it. Plan on seeing me tonight. I'll try to end dinner by 10 so I should see you by 11_

She didn't put the phone away as she knew she would get Maura's answer quickly. A few seconds later the phone buzzed with her reply.

_Wonderful news. I'll send the room number. Text when you are heading out. I'll be waiting_

Jane smiled and returned the burner cell to her pocket. The night was going to go so much better now. All she needed to do was to feed Dean the story about her and Maura's fight and step up his chance to have access to Maura's computer tomorrow and she could end her time with him.

She had the love of her life waiting for her and that was definitely a much better way to end her evening.

She sent one last text to Sean with final instructions before she needed to get back to Dean.

_You can leave the labs on my desk_

She knew the flash drive would be waiting for her in her apartment later. Things were definitely coming together.

R&I

Jane returned to the table and found that Dean had ordered a bottle of wine while she was gone. There was no way she was going to drink with the man so when the waiter came to take their orders she requested a glass of water to go with her meal. She saw the look Dean gave her but she really didn't care.

"I can order a different type," he said looking at her as if it was just the wrong type of wine.

"That's not necessary," Jane said. "I'm just not much of a wine drinker. Water is fine." She said it in a tone that left no room for argument.

Now that she knew Sean had found what they needed in Dean's hotel room she knew she wasn't going to have to put up with as much of Dean's attempt to flirt with her as she would have had they not found everything. She just needed to set up tomorrow with him and then bring her night to an end.

They engaged in a bit of small talk getting each other up on their general work lives but didn't get into anything really heavy. Jane knew Dean wanted to find about Maura but she wasn't going to be the one to bring it up. It took until they were about finished with their salads that Dean decided to ask.

"So," he said and looked over at Jane. "What's going on with you and Dr. Isles?"

Jane knew how to play out the conversation so she started the game. "Gabe," she said, "it's not something I really like to talk about."

"Something is going on there. You two used to be inseparable and now it seems like you don't even want to talk about her," he said. "I just want to help if I can."

Jane had to fight not to react to that. He didn't have any interest in helping. She needed to make sure she watched what she said. "We just had a falling out is all," Jane offered.

"What happened?" he asked. If Jane hadn't known better she would have believed he was genuinely concerned.

She sighed and looked at him. She was about to answer but the waiter brought out their meals. Jane let everything get situated and they started in on their dinner before she spoke.

"We had a disagreement during a case," she answered.

"That seems unlike you two," Dean said. "You always seemed like you never fought about anything."

"We never used to," she admitted. "This time things were different."

"What made this different?" Dean asked.

Jane sighed and ate a little more of her food. She wasn't going to be deprived of a decent meal because she was talking. Also, she didn't want to be sitting with the man all night long. The faster she finished the meal the quicker she could get away from him.

After a few minutes Jane started talking again. "What makes this different is that we both said things we shouldn't have. Things I think we both are going to have a hard time forgiving each other for."

Dean nodded like he understood. "What about a case could possibly have sparked such a big disagreement?"

It was time to set tomorrow up for Dean. "Let's just say for the first time in our friendship Maura questioned my integrity," Jane said.

That took Dean by surprise. "How so?" he asked.

"I really don't want to talk about this" Jane said dangling the notion for him but not painting a complete picture.

"Ok," Dean said. "I'm sorry. Clearly this still upsets you. We can talk about something else."

He was clearly disappointed she wasn't going to give him answers but he really wasn't in any position to push her. They both ate of few bites of dinner in silence before Jane blurted out the next piece she needed to say.

"She had the nerve to question some of the evidence I turned in for analysis," she said trying to sound as incredulous as she could. "I mean seriously. She questioned my evidence collection methods. So much so she threw out tests that had already been run and re-did the tests herself. It was a slap in the face to me."

"Why would Maura question you on evidence?" Dean asked. He hadn't expected to hear the fight was over something that serious. And now he really wanted to know what the tests Maura deleted revealed. Had Jane planted evidence or something?

She shook her head. "The case was, is actually since it's still unsolved, complicated," Jane said. She wasn't going to name drop but she knew he was already aware of some what she was saying.

"That doesn't make any sense," Dean pointed out. Jane had never displayed any inclination towards questionable behavior.

"Thank you," Jane agreed strongly. "It didn't make any sense to me either. But suddenly we were having a disagreement about where I obtained some of the evidence like she thought I planted it. Things just spiraled from that point and we both said things we probably shouldn't have."

"When was this?" Dean asked trying to confirm Maura's questions were about the Doyle case.

"We haven't really spoken in a couple of weeks," she said. She would let him do the math.

"I'm sorry Jane," Dean said. "You two were pretty close. Maybe things will come around."

"I'm not sure," she said. "Neither one of us seems to want to be the first to break the silence. I know it won't be me. I didn't do anything wrong so I'm not going to be the one that reaches out to her." That should just about cover what she was going to say next to step up the last part of their plan.

They went back to eating for a bit. Jane had done just about everything she needed to do. She had set up that Maura and her were fighting and it was about work. She like him know Maura questioned Jane's evidence to explain why she re-ran a series of tests. Jane should have piqued Dean's curiosity about the results which was exactly what they needed. And, she had insisted she wasn't going to be the one who spoke to Maura first. Only one detail was left.

"Gabe?" Jane said looking up at him. They were done with their dinner and were just waiting for the bill as Jane declined coffee or dessert.

"Yeah," he replied.

"I arranged for those forensic files to be reviewed first thing in the morning," Jane said. "I'm not sure there is anything to be found but I do agree with you that it is worth a shot. The thing is," she said and paused. "The thing is that I am sure Maura will want to review the labs herself. I didn't ask for her to do it but this is the sort of thing she usually likes to oversee. Would you mind if…"

"You want me to review the results with Dr. Isles without you?" Dean asked. That would be just fine with him.

Jane nodded. "The two of us in the same room, it's just a bad idea right now. If it's alright with you, tomorrow after you come to the station we can go over any last questions and then you can see if Maura found anything. If she did, I'll work with you to pursue it but I don't think it's going to be a good idea with I join you down in the lab."

Dean reached over and took Jane's hand. She had to fight both not to flinch and pull her hand away. "I'm fine talking with Dr. Isles alone," Dean said. "I don't think she will find anything either but I'd like to at least say we tried."

Jane forced a smile. "Thanks," she said. "I know it's not the most professional thing to ask. But,"

"Hey," Dean said. "You don't need to explain any further. Until the two of you resolve your differences I'll do what I can to help. Even if that includes simply sending me to talk to the medical examiner without you."

Jane pulled away from Dean's touch as the waiter brought back his credit card. She had let his hand linger as long as she could take it. "Thank you for dinner," she said. "It was nice."

"Any time Jane," Dean said. He looked at his watch and back up at Jane. It was still early. "Would you like to get a drink somewhere or…"

"Actually," Jane said, "I'd just like to get home."

Dean's shoulders hunched in a bit of defeat. "Sure," he said and they both got up to head out.

R&I

Their drive back to Jane's was filled with small talk. Jane wouldn't let the conversation go back towards Maura or anything else about Jane's personal life. She knew Dean had wanted to consider the night a date but she just wasn't going to have this happen.

Dean pulled up in front of Jane's apartment. She wasn't surprised when he put the car in park but the move would be unnecessary. He turned to her and started to speak. "So," he started.

"Good night Gabe," Jane said and put her hand on the door handle.

"Jane wait," he said. "I was hoping," he paused. "Well I was hoping that maybe we could give us another try."

Jane looked at Dean. "First, we have never been an 'us' so there isn't 'another' anything to try. And Gabe I told you this was just a dinner. Nothing more."

"I know but the last time we spent time together," he said fumbling his delivery, "I mean I know you were blending me in with your experiences with Hoyt but I was hoping this time that I'd have a chance to perhaps take you out. On a date. Without the extra baggage this time."

Jane shook her head. "I'm sorry but no."

"Is it still because of Hoyt?" he asked.

Jane shook her head. God how could some men be so arrogant and so stupid at the same time? "No. It has nothing to do with that. Gabe, I'm seeing someone," Jane said.

"Oh," he said not hiding his disappointment. "I didn't know."

"How could you," Jane said pointedly. "I don't exactly advertise my private life."

Dean realized he almost slipped and recovered. "Right. I know, I just thought maybe you'd have said something sooner."

"This was always just a dinner," Jane pointed out. "I didn't think I owed you an explanation."

"You don't," he admitted. "I guess I was just hoping. So this someone….is it serious?"

Jane smiled. "Very," she answered. She was pretty sure that between the smile the question elicited and the confidence behind her answer Dean could tell she was telling the truth.

"Whoever he is," he said, "He's a very lucky man."

"I'm the lucky one in the relationship," Jane answered. She looked at her apartment and then back to Dean. "I did have a nice night. Thank you for the dinner."

"You're welcome," Dean said. "Tomorrow?"

"10 am," Jane said. "I doubt the review will be done before then."

"10 am it is then," he said.

Jane nodded and opened his car door stepping out onto the curb. She didn't have anything else to say to the agent she hoped would cease being an issue after tomorrow. She only watched him drive off just to ensure that he didn't stay camped outside her apartment. Especially since she was leaving a little later.

Jane run up the stairs to her place and opened the door. Jo greeted her with her normal enthusiasm. Jane looked around and found the flash drive Sean left for her on the kitchen counter. "Did Sean spend any time with you?" she asked Jo wondering if Cavanaugh played with Jo at all. Jo barked once and Jane decided to take that as a yes.

She secured the flash drive in her pocket and went to her gun safe to grab the cell phone. She took Jo's leash from the drawer and went to the living room. "Come on," she said. "Let's get you your walk."

Jane took Jo for a walk down the street. Again she waited until she was a few blocks away before hitting the send button on the phone. Like always Doyle answered on the first ring.

"Well?" was his greeting.

Jane tapped her pocket. "I've got it. We need to meet. This all goes down tomorrow."

"You know the place," he said and disconnected the call.

Always short and to the point. Jane put the cellphone back in her pocket and pulled out the one from her hip. She dialed a number and waited for Frost to answer.

"I need your help," Jane said as soon as Frost answered the phone.

"Name it," he said without a second of hesitation.

"Meet me at the station at 7 am tomorrow and I will explain everything," she said.

"I'll be there," he said. To his credit he didn't even complain about the early morning.

She hung up and dialed another number and waited for Korsak to answer.

"Jane?" he said.

"I need your help," she said.

Similar to her conversation with Frost, Jane got the same response. "What do you need?"

"Meet me at the station at 7 am tomorrow," she said.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Not at the moment," she said. "But thanks," she said.

She had two partners she always knew she could count on.

"I'll be there," Korsak said and he disconnected the call.

That just about covered everything on the night except one more thing. She looked down at Jo and decided it was time to make their way back to her apartment. "Come on," she said. "I need to see Maura still tonight."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Maura opened the door to find Jane standing in the hallway with a beautiful smile on her face. The woman in front of her easily took her breath away.

"You know," the ME said with a smile, "I won't ever get tired of opening a door and finding you on the other side."

Jane's smile got bigger as she stepped into the room. Instead of offering an answer, she simply pulled Maura in for a passionate kiss. They let the kiss consume them for a time until Jane reluctantly pulled away. As much as she wanted to do nothing more than ravish the woman in front of her, they had things they needed to talk about and another kiss like that would force Jane to forget all of that.

They both caught their breath and smiled at each other. "So," Maura asked coyly. "How was dinner?"

"Ugh," Jane said. She was glad she was away from Dean. "Thank God Sean found the flash drive in Dean's room. I didn't even want to think about how I was going to have to try to find it on him they hadn't."

Maura shuddered as well. Jane's playing off on Gabriel's interest in her was the one thing about their entire plan that Maura absolutely hated. She had been so worried that Jane would have to take things to an almost physical level with the agent and she just couldn't bare the thought that Jane would do so to help her. When Jane sent the text that Sean found the flash drive, Maura almost cried in shear relief.

Maura took ahold of Jane's hand and they made their way into the room and sat down on the couch. Neither trusted in their restraint to try sitting on the bed. Not when they really needed to talk.

Jane looked down at her hand intertwined with Maura's. There was such a contrast between Maura's hand in hers and Dean's attempt to place his hand on hers earlier. She squeezed Maura's hand. This was a touch she wanted. A touch she craved. This was a touch that felt like home to her. She was were she belonged.

"So really," Maura said. "How did dinner go?"

Jane recapped her dinner with Dean letting Maura know that things were all set for Dean to head down to the lab without her. She was sure she had reinforced Dean's desire to look for the labs Maura deleted and re-ran. She even told Maura about Dean's attempt to ask her out again and how Jane said no.

"How'd he take it," Maura asked.

"He tried to cover but he was clearly disappointed when I said I was seeing someone," Jane said. "And he believes it's a 'he' and not a 'she'."

Maura smiled, "Well for right now what he doesn't know won't hurt him," Maura answered. Clearly with them hiding their relationship from everyone for the last three weeks, they hadn't even given much thought to their coming out. Maura wasn't concerned about her family but she was a little worried about Jane's. Since she met Jane, all Angela had ever talked about was Jane getting married and having kids. Plus the family was religious and Maura just didn't know how religious they would be about Jane's sexuality. Jane didn't seem too worried about any of that but they honestly hadn't really discussed it.

But those were questions and doubts for another day. Right now they still needed to handle the entire Doyle situation. "When should I expect him tomorrow?" Maura asked pulling herself back into their current conversation.

"I told him 10 am," Jane said. "So probably close to that. He's been early throughout this whole process so I actually expect to see him around 9:30. I told him to check with me first in the morning before having him head down to your office. I'll stall him as much as I can."

Jane wasn't worried about Maura so much as trying to give themselves time. Jane wasn't going to drop off the flash drive to Doyle until 5 am that morning and she knew there was still some behind the scenes work that needed to be done on Doyle's end. Given how long it would take for Dean to install the bot finish up at the station and start looking through the files she hoped everything would be ready to go by noon.

"And all I need to do is review the forensic files with him and refuse to discuss my situation with you," Maura stated more reminding herself of what was needed than for Jane's benefit.

"Yeah," Jane said. "You can talk to him about all the forensic reports in as much Googlemouth as you want," she snickered. "That will keep him from thinking anything is off with you. If he tries to ask about me just tell him you won't discuss personal issues with him and he will drop the subject."

"And at some point I will get pulled from my office," Maura said.

"Yes," Jane confirmed. "We won't wait too long to make that move either." The less time Dean was around Maura the better as far as Jane was concerned. She'd handled everything up to that point so well but she didn't like Dean lurking in her office and didn't want Maura to get stuck having to lie if he asked an unexpected question. "We want him to be alone in your office. That's when he will install the bot from his flash drive."

Maura nodded. "Once he finishes that and I return do you think he will want to continue talking with me?" She had gotten better at diverting conversations about Jane when people would ask. That wasn't technically lying but more just deliberately refusing to engage in conversation. She was a little worried Dean would have all sorts of questions for her and the last thing she wanted to do after all they had been through to that point was to have a vasovagal episode and get Dean suspicious.

"I don't think so," Jane said. "You've already said there wasn't anything of value in the lab reports so it's not like he will actually have to take anything back to the task force. I have a feeling that once he installs that program he is going to want to get out of your office as quickly as possible. Remember, he needs to actually search for the files and he won't do that from the station."

It was crucial for Dean to get access to the information he was looking for. And it was crucial for two reasons. First, he needed to feel like he got in and out of the station undetected. They needed him to believe he was able to successfully plant the bot so he would actually log on and access the information from Maura's computer.

The second part of all of this was that Dean absolutely had to find what he was looking for. It needed to be found and sent to whomever had sent Dean in the first place. Jane and Maura had discussed stopping the second attempt before access was gained. At first they felt that was the best way to keep Maura safe. Keep the information concealed and she wouldn't have any issues.

But then Jane brought up a valid point. If they stopped the second attempt before information was found by whoever was looking for it, there wasn't anything to prevent that person from trying a third, fourth or fifth time. They couldn't live like that. Neither of them. So they decided they needed to augment their original plan.

The second attempt needed to 'succeed' in order to prevent further issues. So they were going to let Dean release the bot into Maura's office PC. They were going to let him access the information. They were going to let Dean send the found information to whoever he worked for. Thanks to Alex's handiwork to Dean's laptop, they were going to watch him to all of that. They wouldn't make a move on Dean, or Crowe, until after they were certain information had been shared.

What Dean, and whoever had sent him, would never know is that the information they were about to hack had been altered. That alteration would be undetectable thanks to the assistance of Drew Beckett. So when the deleted tests completed by Maura were found they would see the DNA profiles for Patrick Doyle and Colin Doyle. But when they ran those profiles against the rest of the data bases, there would no longer be a hit to Maura's DNA profile. Thanks to the handiwork of Drew Beckett until Dean and Crowe were arrested and the source exposed, Maura was no longer the daughter of a mobster. Not, at least, electronically.

That should end the whole mess. That should be enough to keep Maura safe and conceal the truth about her paternity for good. The rival family would see the labs and see that Colin was related to Patrick. But that would be all. There would be nothing that would link Maura to any of the evidence or test results connected to the Doyles. Maura's part in all of this would come to a complete end.

The group would then make a move on Dean and Crowe. And with the help of a friend of Beckett's, the feds would be able to make a move on whichever family started this whole mess in the first place. Just about everything was set.

R&I

"Stay," Maura whispered.

They were sitting on the couch in the hotel room. Maura was cuddled into Jane's side with her arms wrapped tightly around Jane's waist. Jane was absentminded running her fingers up and down the arm Maura had draped across her stomach. They had covered everything that needed to be covered about the next morning. They'd spent the last fifteen minutes just quietly in each other's arms.

The silence was peaceful. Both were running through everything that needed to be done still in the morning. But both were also just enjoying their time together. They hadn't had enough time since all of this started. Each was hopeful that by tomorrow night they would no longer have to count their time in seconds, minutes and hours. If everything worked out they would have their lives back and could count their time by weeks, months and years.

"I have to meet Patrick in a few hours," Jane said disappointedly. Although she made no effort to move. She was comfortable and had Maura in her arms. Nothing could be better.

"Stay here for those few hours," Maura whispered again. She didn't want to head home alone. She wanted to stay there with Jane.

Jane sighed a small smile. She did have her car halfway there. She had driven halfway to the hotel before getting a cab for the rest of the journey. It wouldn't take that long for her to drive to the South Boston garage.

She continued to lightly stroke up and down Maura's arm. "What do you propose we do for those few hours?" she asked quietly.

Maura broke out into a smile and leaned up to capture Jane's lips. After a lingering kiss she spoke not pulling herself too far from lips she wasn't done with yet. "I'm sure we can think of something," she replied and pulled Jane down on top of her as she laid back on the couch.

Their lips found themselves again and the intensity of the kiss increased quickly. Hands roamed over backs and down sides as tongues roamed around in mouths. As Maura started to kiss Jane's pulse point she vaguely remember thinking this was an excellent way to spend an hour or two.

As things picked up between the two ladies, Maura worked her hands to the fabric of Jane's shirt. Jane, as if sensing exactly what Maura had in mind, had to stage a slight intervention.

"As sexy as it is to watch you rip my clothes off," Jane's voice made Maura stop just in time, "I need this shirt to at least get to my car later." Maura had developed a habit of skipping over buttons by just tearing open Jane's shirt. On any other occasion, the shirt be damned but she did need her clothes at least functional enough to not cause an issue in the cab ride to her car. She had extra clothes in her trunk but she still needed to get there.

Maura released the fabric of Jane's shirt and almost pouted. She was going to have to do things the harder way. Begrudgingly she worked the buttons loose and pushed the shirt off Jane's shoulders where she let her mouth work over the newly exposed skin.

While she did that, Jane decided to keep her hands occupied with getting into Maura's pants. She fumbled with the button but eventually got it undone and had worked the zipper down with relative ease. The first loud moan on the night came when Jane dove right into Maura's panties and let her fingers rub up and down her slit.

Feeling Jane's fingers start to tease her she wanted more than what Jane seemed to have access to. "You know," she breathed out as Jane's fingers stroked against her again with a little more pressure. "This room came furnished with a bed."

"It did," Jane replied with a smile. "Didn't it." And with that Jane's hand was extracted from Maura's pants and she was up on her feet. Before Maura could complain about the total loss of contact, especially when things were just getting good, Jane scooped her up from the couch and carried her over to the bed bridal style.

She gently laid Maura on the bed. "That's really rather convenient," she pointed out. She stood up and removed her already undone shirt and was just as quickly out of the rest of her clothes as well. It was probably the right thing to do. She really did need them later and if she removed them herself they would be safe from harm.

Once she managed her clothes she wasted no time helping the ME out of hers. The pants were easy. Jane had already started exploring in that general vicinity so all it took to remove them was a quick lift of Maura's hips which she was oh so happy to comply. Maura's top took just a few extra moments as she had several buttons to navigate as well. "We need to think about pull over clothes in the future," Jane pointed out as she finally undid the last button to be able to free her love from the offending top.

"Most of my favorite tops have buttons," Maura tried to point out as Jane undid the front clasp on Maura's bra.

"Pull over tops Maur," Jane said again. "Given the number of shirts of mine you've already ruined it's just a matter of time before I start repaying that favor."

Maura giggled as Jane lowered herself down on top of Maura. The giggling immediately stop as there was nothing funny about the feel of Jane's naked body pressed against hers. That sensation was just simply wonderful.

Maura released of sigh as Jane went to work on her breasts. Jane licked and caressed the flesh running her tongue over a hardened nipple. She absolutely loved the taste of Maura. While Jane's mouth was doing wonderful things to the upper portions of Maura's body, her hand resumed the exploration of the nether regions she had started on the couch. Only this time no clothes and room to spread out definitely gave Jane a better angle to approach with her hand.

She reached down to stroked Maura's outer lips but instead of teasing like she normally did she quickly inserted two fingers into Maura's center.

"Oh God!" Maura exclaimed not exactly ready for that. Well her body was ready as she was soaked but her mind had expected Jane to tease. And oh God was she glad Jane wasn't going to tease. Jane's fingers penetrating inside of her felt incredible. Between Jane's fingers pumping in and out and Jane's tongue rapidly flicking and circling around her nipple Maura was in heaven.

She bit down on her lower lip and started to concentrate on matching Jane's pace with thrusts of her hips. "God Jane," Maura moaned. "Don't stop."

As Maura's hips rocked to the tempo of her fingers Jane worked a third digit into the mix. "Yes," Maura stuttered as she felt the insertion. Jane found a pace Maura seemed to like and she worked the ME up into a frenzy. Maura was meeting her efforts in a near perfect rhythm and Jane knew Maura was closing in on her first orgasm. She picked up the tempo just a bit and that was enough to bring Maura over the edge. Her walls tightened around Jane's fingers, "Jane!" she cried out as the pleasure came crashing over her.

Jane slowed her thrusts but didn't stop them. She wasn't exactly done with the ME. She released the breast she had been doing a number on and quickly kissed her way down Maura's abs only stopping when she reached Maura's inner thighs. Her hands was still moving in and out trying to let Maura carry out her first high as best she could but as she sensed Maura was coming down she quickly attached her lips to Maura's clit.

"O….." Maura really wasn't in any shape to form words. She struggled to get the noises out. Jane sucked Maura's clit into her mouth and ran her tongue over the hardening bundle of nerves. Jane could vaguely hear Maura gasping and attempting other noises but she found her concentration was pretty focused on bringing the woman to a second, more powerful orgasm.

She wouldn't have to wait long. Her tongue swirled over the top of Maura's clit a few more times and Maura was lost to the world again. She screamed but doubted anyone could have have made out what she said but she really didn't care. She was just trying to actually get oxygen back in her lungs.

Jane gently pulled out of Maura as she let the aftershocks run their course. Unable to resist she licked her fingers clean of the ME's essence knowing that as wonderful as Maura's skin tasted to her the woman's juices could easily become an addiction.

Still panting Maura could finally string words together, "Jesus Jane," she said. "You are amazing." It was a short sentence but it took effort for the genius to get it out.

"No," Jane said softly as she settled in next to Maura and gently ran she hands up and down Maura's sides. She just wanted to maintain some level of contact. "Just inspired."

Maura sighed contentedly and fought not to close her eyes. She didn't want to fall asleep before she had her turn at Jane plus she really wanted to spend the time they had together. So instead of closing her eyes she rolled onto her side and focused in on Jane.

"I love you," she said. It seemed such a simple declaration for something so impossibly complicated. But she did love the woman there was no doubt.

Jane smiled. "I love you too," she said. More than she ever thought she would be capable of loving someone.

Maura stayed positioned on her side with her head propped up from her hand under her chin. Jane was resting on her back. With her free hand Maura started to trace light circles around Jane's breast. Touching but barely. Simply grazing the skin. As her circles grew narrower and narrower her fingertips inched closer and closer to Jane's nipple. When Maura's finger finally was tracing tiny circles just around the nipple Jane shuddered at the sensation.

Round and round and round she let her finger swirl. First over one then over the other. She didn't know why exactly but she was fascinated by Jane's body. She was a doctor. She examined bodies up close every single day of her life but the level of intrigue she had with Jane's body especially Jane's reaction to her touch was something she had never experienced before.

She wanted to know every inch of flesh. She wanted to chart every sensitive region and explore how much or how little effort it took to get a reaction from Jane. She wished she had hours, days to just rub a single finger over every body part. She longed for that kind of time. Perhaps, after tomorrow, they would have it.

In the meantime, she shifted and replaced her fingertip with her tongue. Jane's reaction wasn't the same. It wasn't a shudder it was a shiver and Jane released a soft moan. Maura took that as a sign of progress.

Round and round and round she swirled her tongue over Jane's nippled. Still just light touches but wet ones now. Every now and then she would gently blow a little warm air over the moistened nipple. That made Jane shriek. Not wanting to break away from what had her attention entirely captivated, Maura stayed focused on what her tongue was doing but let her free hand travel south towards Jane's center.

She felt the heat radiating from Jane well before she discovered Jane's wetness. There was a bit of pride knowing she was responsible for working Jane up that much as she had barely touched her.

"God Maur," Jane pleaded. The tongue job her breasts were getting now coupled with Maura's hand so close but yet so far from where she wanted it was driving Jane crazy. "Please," she begged.

Maura responded by letting two fingers find Jane's clit. She rolled the fingers over Jane but barely applied any pressure.

Jane moaned from the sensation but it wasn't enough. "More," she pleaded.

Maura wasn't sure if Jane was asking for more or simply uttering her name. In the end it didn't matter. Maura yielded to what Jane wanted and inserted two fingers into Jane.

"Oh yes," Jane gasped and Maura filled her. She arched her hips pulling Maura deeper into her.

Maura let her fingers slide easily in and out trying to take her time. But Jane had other ideas. She started to rock her hips trying to generate as much friction as she could. Maura seemed content letting Jane assist her with hip movements as it let her still continue to focus on letting her tongue continue its assault on Jane's breasts.

Jane's breath got quicker and quicker and her hip gyrations started becoming more erratic. "God I'm close," Jane gasped and she knew her release was imminent. Maura took the cues and quickened the pace of her thrusts. Increasing the pressure she applied as well, she felt Jane's walls tighten and within seconds Jane's orgasm flooded through her.

"Oh God!" she yelled as it hit her. The expressions Jane made as she orgasmed had quickly made the list of things that fascinated Maura about the woman. Maura had a feeling that list was only just getting started.

The rest of the time Jane had that night was spent with Maura wrapped tightly in her arms.

R&I

At 5 am in the South Boston parking garage, Jane met with Patrick Doyle for what she hoped would be the very last time. If the day went as planned it would all be over and there would be no further need for the secret meetings and cryptic phone calls. She paced a little in front of her car waiting. She had been unable to stay seated in her car. She was going to be on edge all day long.

Finally Doyle's car pulled up and after what had now become a routine Doyle finally emerged from the vehicle. Jane hoped this was going to be their shortest meeting.

"So you have it," Doyle said.

Jane reached into her pocket and pulled out the flash drive and handed it over to him. "This is all he should need," Jane said.

Doyle took it and nodded. "And you are handling the other two?" he asked.

"As soon as we see that the information has been found and sent, we'll handle our two," Jane said. She'd refused to tell Doyle who exactly from the FBI was involved. In the end it was going to up to them to handle Dean and Crowe within the legal system.

Jane wasn't so sure about the rival mob family. She hoped the feds would be able to move against the family before Doyle had his chance but there just wasn't a guarantee. Doyle wouldn't think twice about killing the people responsible for Colin's death no matter if there was a federal case to be made against the head of the family. The realist in Jane believed Doyle would get to the family before the feds could issue their warrants. Street justice always moved quicker than court justice.

The friend Beckett recommended was going to use the copy of the bot from Dean's flash drive to backtrace exactly where the information was being sent. The working principles of the identity skimmer Colin and Drew invented could not only reveal identities but it also acted as a tracer on electronically shared data. The tool worked almost instantaneously so the second Dean sent the obtained files they would know who it was being sent to.

The agreement was for the information to get to the feds. Jane knew it would but suspected it would be too late. Jane talked this over with Sean but they both realized there wasn't much they could do about it. They would end up just dealing with any investigations in homicides that would occur from all of this if the bodies were ever actually found or the feds didn't take the case claiming jurisdictional rights.

"The kid said he would just need a few hours to handle the modifications. He's fairly certain he will be ready to go live by 10 am," Doyle said. That fit Jane's timeline.

"The information is altered," Jane said. "But there's no way for anyone to detect that it was changed. According to our records, she isn't now nor has she ever been your daughter."

Doyle just nodded. He had come to realize the best way to keep Maura safe was for this to be the truth to the world. He'd never be able to claim her as his own. It was a price he was willing to pay for her safety. She never needed to get hurt simply because of what he was.

"If this works, you and I shouldn't have to ever meet like this again," he pointed out. It was Jane's turn to nod. "A favor?" Doyle asked with no confidence at all which was quite odd for a man of his nature.

"What?" she asked almost certain she would say no to whatever it was he wanted.

"Don't let her get rid of that phone," he said quietly. It really was his only lifeline to her. Perhaps one day. She just might want to use it.

That surprised Jane. She didn't say anything for a minute but then nodded her head. "I can't make any promises," she said. "But I won't push her to get rid of it."

As much as he was a killer, he was responsible for producing the best thing that had ever happened to her. And Jane had come to believe he really did care about Maura. She wouldn't necessarily lobby specifically for him but she wouldn't actively lobby against him either.

Doyle could only nod. Before walking to his car this time he said one last thing. "You've given her the family I was never able to provide," he said slowly. "I see that you love her. From what I've seen she loves you too. Keep her safe and make her happy."

He didn't give Jane a chance to respond. Not that she really had one. He was in the car and driving off before she completely processed what he had said. Watching the car drive off she mumbled, "Always."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Jane could only smile at her two partners was they walked into the bullpen that morning. It was 6:30 and they were both there. Early and there. There was just a comforting feeling that both these two men were in her life.

"Morning," she greeted the two detectives. Frost was carrying a cup of coffee for her and that made her smile even more.

"So what's going on?" Korsak was the first to ask. He was just glad Jane was finally going to tell them what had been going on. Jane had been uptight for several weeks and he didn't know what was causing it. He was used to her holding things in but she would almost always give him some indication after a little while. For three weeks there had just been nothing.

"Let's take a walk," Jane said as she stood up from her desk. They weren't going to review everything that was going on in the middle of the bullpen.

Both men looked a little confused but they simply started to follow Jane as she headed towards the stairs. It was a trip she knew well by this point. Up to the roof they all went.

Once they were on the roof and Jane was sure no one else was up there, she turned to her partners.

"Alright Jane," Frost said. "What's going on? Really going on?" He had a feeling it was going to be something big. From the way Jane had been acting for weeks and now the fact that they were talking up on the roof let him know none of what he was about to hear was typical everyday life drama.

"First, thank you both for coming in," she said with a sincere smile.

"You need us we're here. Simple as that," Korsak said.

Jane nodded at both men knowing she would do the exact same for either of them if they needed it. "Second," Jane said and took a breath. She was worried she was really going to upset them both. "I need to come clean about a couple of things."

"Like why you and Maura are fighting?" Frost asked. He had a feeling whatever this was it was tied to that.

Jane half nodded, "Sort of," she answered. "The thing is I owe you both an apology."

"For what?" Korsak asked now really confused.

"For lying to you both," Jane said. Both men just looked at her with confused looks on their face. "Maura and I aren't fighting."

That did absolutely nothing to fix the looks the men had. If anything, it only made it worse.

"You're not fighting?" Frost asked like he wasn't sure he really heard her correctly.

"No," Jane said. "We just needed everyone to believe that we were." She felt awful about making them both worry about her and Maura. About lying to them. But at the time she thought it was necessary.

"Why?" Korsak asked now more curious than upset. He knew Jane well enough to know she wouldn't have done something like that without a good reason.

"Colin Doyle's case got unexpectedly complicated," Jane answered. Since they both looked like they didn't want to kill her, she proceeded to explain what was going on. Everything except Maura's paternity. She and Maura had agreed not the tell either of them that fact.

But she explained about the hacking attempt and that Alex had been able to link emails from Crowe to whoever was trying to access information on Doyle. She told them about how Crowe had to report that he wasn't close with either Jane or Maura to attempt a second try to access files. How it wouldn't be him that would try to get access to information but someone else would make the attempt. Then she explained that they thought faking a fight would get that second person to attempt to gain access faster only it took a few weeks. She told them that second attempt was going to happen later that morning.

"So you guys thought if it got out that you and Maura were fighting whoever was going to try again would come sooner," Frost said trying to keep up.

"Yes," Jane said. "Only we all thought it would be a couple of days. Not a couple of weeks. I really didn't think it would take this long. Had I known that, I would have told you two from the beginning. We just thought it would be more believable if you two really thought there was an issue between us. With Crowe being in our department and interacting with the three of us everyday I just didn't want him to get suspicious. Guys I'm sorry."

Everyone was quiet for a moment and then Frost broke the silence. "Crowe is such an ass," he said. So much so that he wasn't surprised the detective was dirty.

All three smiled. Frost's utterance was true but it also meant he didn't hold any hard feelings against Jane. Looking at Korsak it was clear he didn't either.

"So," Korsak said returning them to the conversation. "Dean's involved with this too isn't he?"

Jane nodded. "But not how you think. He's our hacker," she said.

"Holy shit," uttered Frost.

"Are you sure?" Korsak asked. He thought Dean was at the station to help investigate the leak. He'd seen the ViCAP hits and knew his cover story for the cold case review was poor. He didn't expect to hear that Dean was in on it.

"Absolutely," Jane said. "We finally were able to trace the IP address from the hacker to a location. Once Alex was able to work his way through all the sub-routing the hacker did he could trace the address to the FBI's Boston field office. Because of their firewalls and encryptions he couldn't pinpoint the exact agent but we were all certain someone from that office was the hacker."

"So when Dean showed up with a poor cover story," Korsak started.

"The pieces fell into place," Jane answered. Alex had identified the IP address as the Boston field office about a week after the hacking attempt. That was when they knew the second person was going to be a field agent. They just didn't know who.

So they waited until an agent decided to make an appearance. Jane had thought it would be someone wanting a consultation with Maura. After all, the labs and results were in her data base. But no one came. For two weeks. Until Dean showed up in Cavanaugh's office. That's when they knew.

With the help of Beckett, Alex was able to unencrypt the rest of Crowe's email communications and found the rest of the emails Crowe sent. They could link several to Dean which helped close the loop on the hacking effort but they found several to the source. Alex was unable to track the source's IP address and while Beckett was working on it he wasn't having much luck either. Their best chance at getting the mafia family behind the whole thing was by letting Dean transmit what files he was going to steal today. Beckett and his friend would be able to actively use the skimming technology to backtrace the transmissions and get an identity for the mob connection.

"Dean's an ass, too," Frost declared and all three laughed. It felt good for Jane to laugh. She really hadn't done so in a couple of weeks.

"Yes," Jane replied, "he is."

"So how can we help?" Korsak asked assuming Jane was looping them in because she needed help.

"Dean is going to install a bot into Maura's computer this morning," Jane said.

"A robot?" Korsak asked.

Frost snickered, "Not a robot old man. A bot. It's basically a software program that let's a remote user access the computer it is installed on. It takes commands from the remote user and relays information."

"Whatever happened to the days of stealing files from file cabinets?" Korsak asked. All this technology stuff was a little much for him.

"The 'file cabinets' are now electronic," Jane said with a smile. "The bot is how Dean will steal what he wants."

"Are you are going to let him?" Frost asked.

"We have access to his laptop," Jane said. "We installed a rootkit on it."

"Sweet," Frost said knowing exactly what had to have been done to get that to happen. Jane had been busy.

Korsak looked confused again. "Wait," he insisted. "Don't tell me. I don't think I really need to know."

"They have complete control over Dean's computer," Frost said.

"We need him to find what he is looking for and send it to whoever he works for," Jane said. "Once he does that we can trace that transfer and figure out which family is behind all of this." It would give them insight into Colin's killer as well. That case had yet to be solved.

Jane let Korsak get caught up to where they were at. "So like I asked," he said. "What do you need from us?"

"When all of this goes down and we are sure that we've gotten everything we need from Dean and his computer to trace it back to the mob family, we are going to move on Crowe and Dean." Jane needed help from Frost and Korsak with the arrests. "Sean and I will handle Dean. We'd like you two to arrest Crowe."

That had put smiles on the faces of both men. Jane was sure they wouldn't have an issue with performing that particular task. Sean had worked out arrest warrants for both Dean and Crowe through a contact he had in the DA's office.

"It'll be our pleasure," Frost said. He always hated Crowe.

They talked about the logistics of getting everything accomplished and after all the details were squared away Frost went to walk towards the stairway doors. "Wait," Jane said stopping Frost from leaving. It was clear that neither man was mad about the lie about the fight with Maura but Jane now wanted them to know their other truth.

"What?" he asked.

"There's one more thing I need for you two to know," she said. She was relatively sure that they both would be ok with her relationship with Maura. Frost was open minded enough she knew he would support her. She only worried a bit that Korsak might not be so open to the idea.

She took a deep breath and started. "Maura and I," she said pausing for a second. "Maura and I are together. It happened a few weeks ago but I love her." She couldn't help the smile when she said it. "For some reason the woman seems to love me too. We both wanted you two to know before it comes out after all of this is handled."

And then she waited for reactions. There was silence for what felt like an eternity. Korsak and Frost exchanged a look and a nod. It was Vince who spoke on behalf of the men in Jane's life.

"The reasons aren't that hard to figure out Jane," he said with a smile. "We're happy for you both. I think you two will make each other very happy."

R&I

Dean heading into the bullpen to find Jane. He was still extremely disappointed that she turned him down last night. He hadn't seen any evidence of her having a boyfriend in the time he had been monitoring her. There wasn't any guy sending her emails or text messages and she wasn't logging any phone calls to anyone other than her family or calls that were work related. He wondered if she was just making up someone to let him down easy but there was just something in her eyes when she said it was serious that made him believe she truly was involved with someone.

Perhaps it wouldn't work out he thought. He'd make sure to leave things on a good note with her today in case that was a possibility. Maybe she would consider him if this mystery relationship crashed and burned.

He had a lot to get done on the day. He needed to chat with Jane and make sure there were no hard feelings that he had asked her out. He needed to get down to Maura's office to speak with the ME. More importantly he needed to find a way to get Maura out of the office long enough for him to install the spyware on Maura's office PC. After that, he needed to make an exit from the station so he could actually retrieve the information he had been sent in to obtain.

He hadn't really figured out how he was going to get Maura out of her office but he was confident he would think of something. He had a feeling that somewhere in her review of the labs he could ask a good enough question that she would have to step away to check on the answer. Or he hoped anyway.

Dean approached Jane who was sitting at her desk doing paperwork. He looked around and wondered where everyone was at. He'd wanted to say goodbye to the guys. "Where is everyone?" he asked Jane as he approached.

"Got a call," she said. "I'll be joining them later if there isn't anything to follow-up on with the forensic files."

"Looks like you get to get back into the swing of things," he said. "I do appreciate the time you took for all of this."

"It needed to be done," Jane said. "But I will admit I'm looking forward to things returning back to normal." And she really was.

"Do you think you will work things out with Maura?" he asked.

Jane was quiet for a minute. "I'm not sure. Trust is a fragile thing and when it's broken sometimes there's just no recovering from that." She would never be able to overlook what Dean had done. Dean nodded but didn't say anything. "Are you sure you are alright going down there on your own?"

"Sure," he said. "It's just a consultation. And I think we both know there isn't going to be much she is going to be able to tell me. These two cases just don't seem to be related to the Connecticut investigation."

"No," Jane admitted, "I don't think they are connected." She had managed to stall him as long as she could. "If you want to head down go right ahead. I'll wait up here in case you need anything."

Dean slipped his hand into his pocket and gripped the flash drive. "I'm sure I won't be needed anything," he said. "I'll stop back up either way to at least say goodbye."

Jane nodded and Dean made his way to the elevators. Once the elevator door closed behind him Jane used her burner cell to text Maura the warning the he was on his way.

R&I

"Agent Dean," Maura acknowledged the knock that came on her door. She had gotten Jane's text warning that Dean was coming down. "Come in."

"I appreciate you taking the time to review the lab reports from the cases for us," Dean said as he entered the office. He couldn't help but glance over at the hard drive sitting under Maura's desk. His target.

"Consultations are a part of my job," Maura answered. She really was getting better with the whole answering with technical truths thing. "Please have a seat," she said and pointed to chair in front of her desk.

Dean took a seat and Maura pulled out a stack of files that no doubt contained the lab reports from all the cases. "So," he asked. "Any chance at all the two cold cases are connected to the cases in Connecticut?"

She had reviewed the files. The cases were not connected. "Unfortunately for your investigation, it's my medical opinion that the case from Boston and the case from Cambridge are not connected to the cases in Bristol and Bridgeport." Maura flipped through a few pages. "Based on my review, I would say it is even highly improbable that the Boston cold case is connected to the Cambridge cold case."

"Really," Dean said starting to let his mind wander on finding a way to get Maura out of her office. "Is there anything of relevance you can tell me about the Connecticut cases that might be helpful to the task force's investigation?" He didn't want her to just say the cases were all unrelated leaving him without a reason to be in her office.

"Actually," she started, "I may have something that could be of assistance." She pulled the files Dean had obtained from the Connecticut State police flipped through some of the pages. "While I was doing an analysis on the wound patterns found on the victims it became quite clear to me that your suspect is left handed."

She pulled out the three reports that had made her come to that conclusion and she started to review the results with Dean. She could instantly tell that he was listening but not completely paying attention to her. She had to fight the urge not to point it out to him. Instead, she continued to review lab tests and several wound patterns also informing him about the type of weapon the Connecticut suspect would have used.

That gave Dean his first real idea about how to get Maura out of her office. "Dr. Isles?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes Agent Dean," she replied.

"You wouldn't, by chance, have an example of the type of weapon used that I could see, would you?" He was hoping maybe she had a replica or a picture somewhere she would have to step out to get.

"I don't have an actual replica," she admitted. "But I do have a picture was what the weapon would look like. I can get that for you if you would like."

"Yes," he said a little too enthusiastically. He needed to tone it down. "I think I'll do a better job of explaining this to the other field agents if I had a visual." He was certain this was going to be his chance to get at Maura's computer.

Maura nodded. That had played out just as Jane said it would. She turned but instead of leaving the office for get the picture she walked over to her computer and opened up a file. "If you'd like to come over here," she said. 'I've got several draft images you can use as a visual aid."

Dean's heart sunk into his chest. He was hoping she would have to head into the lab to get the pictures not just use her computer. The computer he needed access to. Slowly he made his way over to her desk to look at the pictures. He really could care less and now his mind was scrambling to find another avenue to try.

Maura talked him through the finer points of the photos pointing out a few details she thought might be helpful to the active investigation. She could sense Dean getting anxious which quite honestly made her a bit nervous too. She didn't have much else to share with him and she wasn't completely sure in her ability to carry on a conversation with him after the file review was complete. She started wishing Jane would stage her interruption.

And then, as if on cue, the interruption came.

The phone on Maura's desk rang startling both Maura and Dean. Maura reached down to answer it. "Dr. Isles," she said.

"Alright," Jane said. 'It's time you left the agent alone in your office. Did you pull up the photos on your computer for him to see?"

"Yes," Maura answered.

"Good," Jane said. "Now you are signed in and the computer is on. Hang up after you say that you'll be right there. Then excuse yourself for a moment and tell him something needs your attention in the lab."

Maura did as she was told. "I'll be right there," she said and hung up. She turned to Dean. "Excuse me for a moment," she said. "I'm needed in the lab." It, again, was technically the truth. She was needed out of her office and in the lab.

"Certainly," Dean said with a smile. He couldn't believe his luck.

Maura stepped away from her desk and headed out towards the lab. She had done what she needed to do.

Dean waiting until the ME was out of sight before he pulled out the flash drive. He minimized the screen they had just been looking at and he inserted the flash drive into the first USB port he could find. The bot was set to automatically install onto the hard drive so there wasn't much more he needed to do but physical insert the flash drive and confirm installation.

It happened fast. Within a minute the bot was installed and Dean saw the confirmation bubble appear on the screen. He closed out the bubble, removed the flash drive from the port and maximized the page that he had been reviewing with the ME. When he was certain everything was handled, he walked to the other side of the ME's desk and sat down waiting for Maura to return. He breathed a little easier knowing he had accomplished his task on the day.

It took Maura about 5 minutes to return. When she did return she found Dean sitting calmly in a chair waiting for her. He was no longer nervous or uptight and Maura again knew instantly that his attempt to install the bot had been a success. Now she just wanted him out of her office.

"Sorry about that," she said as she returned to her desk. She sat across from him and wondered what she should say next. "Did you have any questions about the lab reports?" she asked hoping his answer was no.

Dean shook his head. "No," he said. "Jane and I had been convinced the two cold cases just weren't connected but we thought we'd at least review every possible angle. I do appreciate your time."

"The medical examiner's office is always available for consultations," Maura answered.

"I'll let the task force knew about the possible weapon and the fact the suspect is left handed. Again, thank you for your time." This time he said it while standing up.

Jane had been right again. He was going for a quick exit once he had installed the software onto her computer. Maura couldn't have been happier that Jane was correct. She stood and walked the agent to her office door.

"If you, or the task force, has any questions please contact my office," she said.

Dean only nodded and headed for the elevators.

Maura retreated to her office and stared at her computer. She was now a little afraid to touch it. She grabbed the burner cell and sent Jane a message.

_He did it. He's heading to see you._

She looked again at her computer and hoped this was the beginning of the end.

R&I

Jane tried to sit nonchalantly at her desk again 'working' on paperwork. She didn't look up until Dean was standing in front of her. He looked extremely anxious to head out.

"Anything?" she asked.

"The cases aren't related," Dean said. "Maura even said the Boston case isn't connected to the Cambridge case."

Jane nodded. "She should know," she said.

"Looks like I wasted your time," he said.

"We needed to look into it," Jane said. "I'm just sorry it didn't work out for you."

"Maura had some insights into the Connecticut cases that could be of some use so it wasn't a complete loss," he said.

Jane nodded. "So, are you heading out?"

"Yeah," Dean said. "I need to report to the field office and let them know where we stand and about what Maura saw."

Jane swiveled in her chair but didn't get up. "I'll see you," she said casually.

Dean nodded, "Jane I'm sorry if I stepped over the line when I asked you out last night. I should have listened when you said it was only dinner."

"That's alright," Jane said. "No harm done."

Dean looked at Jane for a few moments and then decided it was time to leave. "Thanks for everything," he said and he headed out of the elevators.

R&I

Jane stood in Cavanaugh's doorway. "The package has been delivered," she said with a smile.

Sean looked up and nodded. "Let's go," he said. They were going to head over to Alex's office to watch Dean's every electronic move. As soon as he transferred the files, they would have him, Crowe and the mob connection.

Or so they hoped.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Jane, Sean and Alex all hovered around the computer Alex had set up to monitor the activity Dean conducted on his laptop. They were waiting for him to get back to his hotel room and launch the computer.

While they waited, Alex recapped what he had found on the copy of Dean's hard drive. He was still working on some of the files as Dean had made it a practice to encrypt everything on the drive and Alex was slowly starting to win the decryption battle.

If Alex was reading the files correctly what he was finding as he worked through the decryption process lead him to believe he discovered who Dean was working for. He found several files on the hard drive that contained confidential federal surveillance notes as well as investigative recaps from field agents assigned to monitor the activity of one specific mob family. He also found bank account records for an offshore account in the Caymen Islands in Dean's name.

Sean and Alex knew that they couldn't use the information Alex was finding to obtain any search warrants against Dean. They were looking at his hard drive illegally. They did, however, have legal means to make a move on Dean even without the hacking he was about to do. Alex had found Dean through perfectly legal means when he was able to link emails sent from Crowe the the IP signature Dean's laptop had left behind.

That was enough to get a judge to sign off on an arrest warrant and a search warrant that would allow them to seize Dean's laptop. The arresting officers, in this case Jane and Sean, would turn over the laptop to CSRU and the IT techs to review. Alex would be requested to assist in that review and he would 'help' decrypt the drive. No one really needed to know that he had gotten a preview of the drive contents from the rootkit he installed The ability to obtain the search warrant through what Alex had found from Detective Crowe would allow all the documents Dean had stored on his hard drive be admissible in court. They had him dead to rights.

The group didn't have, however, the mob family quite yet. Not according to the US attorney Alex spoke with earlier. The records on Dean's drive that covered the mob family weren't quite enough for the feds to make a move on that family. There wasn't any proof yet that Dean shared the documents on his hard drive with anyone associated with that family. That was why Alex thought it was important for Dean to find and send the desired reports and files before stepping in. They needed concrete evidence to go after the mob family.

They all hoped today they would get that concrete evidence today. If things played out the way they wanted them to, Dean would lead them right to the mob family that had started this all. The FBI and the US Attorney's office were willing to step in if Alex could produce enough concrete evidence.

"Hey," Sean's voice echoed through the room. Alex and Jane had been looking at some of the surveillance files he had found on Dean's hard drive. "I think we have something here."

Alex and Jane returned their focus to the computer screen and watched as a program launched itself right in front of them.

"He's using the laptop," Alex said. "Let's see if he works to activate the bot he installed."

The three watched as the cursor moved around the screen starting up different programs. Occasionally Dean would type something in and they got to watch the information appear on the screen almost as if it were magic. It wasn't magic. It was just Alex's rootkit allowing them to see everything Dean was doing.

They watched as he launched his encryption program and then opened his email. Jane was ready for the action to start immediately but they were somewhat disappointed. They had to sit and watch Dean go through his email before he would turn his attention to the software he installed on Maura's PC.

"Come on," Jane practically yelled at the screen. "Who cares about your email. Go find the files."

She looked at both men and who were just staring back at her. "What?" she finally said. "Like neither of you have ever yelled at your TV during a sporting event." She knew yelling at the computer screen wasn't going to do her any good but she felt a little better after having done it.

Finally, after what felt like forever, it appeared as if Dean was going to access the installed bot. In a series of keystrokes, Dean opened up an application that Jane hadn't ever seen before.

"Here we go," Alex said as he recognized what Dean was opening up. He would be the only one in the room to fully understand everything that Dean was opening or doing. Jane had a decent understanding of electronics but all of this was way past her level of understanding.

A few minutes into a flurry of activity she knew Sean was as lost as she was. "Alex," she finally said, "I think Sean and I are going to need some commentary here. I have no idea what he is doing."

Alex snickered to himself more than anything else having forgotten he wasn't sitting next to other IT geeks but two detectives one of which he knew couldn't follow any of this. "Sorry," he said and straightened up to try to walk Jane and Sean through what their eyes saw but their brains didn't understand.

"He's activated the bot," Alex filled them in on what had happened so far. "He's opened up decryption software in case he runs into anything requiring a password. Because he is accessing Maura's computer which she left signed in and ready for him, he shouldn't run into too many password issues. He should just be able to look around and find what he needs."

Just as Alex said that his eyes lit up at something Dean was doing. "He's getting into the deleted folder on Maura's hard drive." He smiled. "He should easily find what he was looking for in that folder."

Sure enough, Jane, Sean and Alex watched as Dean skillfully navigated through the deleted items looking for the labs associated with the Doyle case. Eventually they watched Dean just perform a search query for 'Doyle' and that was when he hit pay dirt.

Dean managed to find the original labs that Maura had run. The CODIS search Maura had performed and the related match that she had obtained. Jane held her breath as she wasn't completely convinced that the records of the first hit the original results had, which was to Maura's profile, had been erased. Beckett had assured Jane that there would be no trace of that anywhere on Maura's hard drive or currently in the BPD servers. His skimming technology was working to help mask Maura's true DNA profile.

They watched as Dean worked to restore the deleted results and save them to his hard drive. Part of Jane wanted him to just close out and get out of Maura's computer. Again, she believed Beckett knew what he was doing but she didn't trust him completely. Getting Dean out of the computer system without finding anything more would make Jane very happy.

"He's running another search," Alex pointed out. He had assumed Dean would find the deleted labs, save them and then work to transfer the information to his mob contact. But he appeared to be lingering in the ME's database.

Jane tried not to swallow hard. Sean knew that they had altered Maura's profile but they hadn't told Alex. Just like they hadn't told Beckett exactly what they were doing and why. He was aware that certain pieces of data were to be changed without detection but they had told him that it was because they were trying to purposefully trap the hacker and their altered information would be proof when the information was obtained from the server. Neither Alex nor Drew knew enough of what was going on to ever guess that Jane and Sean were trying to hide Maura's paternity from Dean and the mob family.

"He's running Colin Doyle's DNA profile against everything stored on Dr. Isles' database," Alex pointed out. It wasn't a nationwide CODIS search but Dean was running Colin's profile against everything Maura had access to.

Jane could only stand there and watch, holding her breath. This was everything she and Maura had worked for over the last three weeks. If Beckett failed to conceal Maura's profile. If Dean found the match. Maura's life would forever be altered.

They waited and watched in silence. Two of the three of them understood absolutely everything that was at stake. The longer it took the more nervous Jane got. She was torn between wanting to pace, which was her natural reaction to stress, and just staring that the screen waiting to find out the fate of the woman she loved. Indecision more than anything else kept her standing still. That and at one point Sean gently placed his hand on her shoulder to try to calm her down.

Finally, the results of Dean's query came back. "He found two hits," Alex said. Jane's stomach lurched. Two hits meant he had found Maura's profile. She was about to say something but Alex spoke again. "It's the same match," he said nonchalantly not really understanding just how much was riding on the results. "It appears as if Dr. Isles ran a DNA analysis of Patrick Doyle's blood and Patrick's profile is on file in the Boston database." Alex explained the reason for the second hit.

Jane's legs almost gave out from under her. Beckett had done it. Maura was safe. She let the knowledge of what just happened hit her and she was completely overwhelmed by the moment. She needed a minute to recover without Alex getting suspicious. She very quietly excused herself and stepped out into the hallway. It wasn't until the door to Alex's office closed that Jane let go of the hold she had on her emotions.

She didn't stop the tears. She didn't try to stop her body from shaking. She just released the fear and the worry that had held her captive for three weeks. She'd come too close to losing something she knew she could never live without. All of this had put Maura too close to danger and Jane never, ever wanted to have this kind of fear again in her life.

She tried to recover quickly. She still was needed to monitor what Dean was doing and who he was sending information to but she also needed the time to release her fear and replace it with relief. She fished through her pocket and pulled out her burner phone and did something for the very first time. Instead of texting, she called the love of her life.

'Jane?" Maura was half whispering making Jane wonder where in the station Maura was standing when a phone they had only ever used to text each other started to ring.

"You're safe," Jane said as loudly as she could risk saying out loud. She listened to Maura's silence and could picture the look on the beautiful ME's face. She heard a slight gasp and understood Maura was feeling what she had just been through a few moments prior.

"I love you so much," Jane said wanting to ensure Maura heard and understand that she was safe. "I need to get back to Sean but Maura, baby, you are safe. We did it. I just had to tell you."

She didn't expect much by way of an answer from the ME. Again, based on her quiet voice Jane was certain she was somewhere she couldn't really talk. Before Jane disconnected the call she heard Maura clear her throat so she waited for a response.

"Always and forever," was all Maura could manage.

"Forever and always," was all Jane needed to say back.

R&I

After Jane composed herself she stepped back into the room. Sean gave her a look she knew was his way of asking if she was ok and she simply nodded. Sean knew Jane well enough to give her space when she needed it. She stepped back up to view what Dean was doing on the laptop and looked to Alex for a recap.

"He's encrypting the files he saved from the database," Alex said. "I'm assuming he's encrypting them to prep them for transfer."

Jane noticed Alex was typing on another keyboard to the left of the screen they were monitoring. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Letting Drew's friend Luke know that Dean is about to transfer files," Alex said. Luke was who Doyle had found after Jane had convinced Drew to give them a name of someone on the outside that could help trace the file transfer back to the mob family. Alex and Luke had exchanged some details and it was set up that both could monitor the file transfer. Luke had an aversion to cops so he wouldn't meet Alex in person. They managed to work out a way to stay in contact during the transfer.

Jane was aware that it was Doyle who located Luke and Luke wasn't doing this task out of the goodness of his heart or because of his friendship with Drew. Doyle was paying him a significant amount of money to use Drew and Colin's technology to back trace the transfers to the actual source. From Jane's understanding, there was a lot of money going to Luke so she was hopeful he would succeed in the task.

"How long will it take to find the source?" Sean asked. They had enough to move on Dean and Crowe but he was curious how long it would be before they could tell the feds which mob family received the stolen documents and paid an FBI agent to hack into the station server to get them.

Jane was hoping the answer was quickly. They had federal contacts willing to review the information and decide if they could act on it. Hers and Sean's concern still was what Patrick Doyle would do when he became aware of which mob family was involved. They both knew Doyle was wherever Luke was and would see the answer when they all saw the answer. If Sean could get the feds to react quickly enough perhaps they could keep Doyle from doing something stupid.

"Almost instantly," Alex said, "if Luke's programming does what he claims it can do." They were all quiet for a moment when Alex spoke again. "It's sent." Dean had transferred the files to his mob contact. Only time would tell now if they would get the source.

Once again they all stared at a computer screen. Only this time it wasn't the one Alex setup that mirrored Dean's computer. This time they were watching the one Alex was using to communicate with Luke. Three sets of eyes stared at the screen waiting for their answer.

It took about three minutes. But three sets of eyes got the answer they were looking for. Alex got his confirmation. It was the family Dean had amassed the surveillance materials for. Jane and Sean exchanged a look. They now knew who they needed to investigate for Colin's murder. They had their source.

R&I

Jane pulled her phone from her hip and dialed a number.

"Frost," the voice came.

"We got them," Jane said. "You and Korsak can make your move."

"Gotcha," Frost replied. He hung up from Jane and turned to Korsak. "Time to go," he said.

Korsak checked to make sure he had the arrest and search warrants, "Come on then," he replied.

They were off to arrest Crowe.

R&I

"It's being sent," Luke said to Doyle. He had altered everything just enough that they could not only monitor what the bot did but also received the identification of the recipient of the file transfer. Colin's work on the skimmer had been pure genius and Luke didn't need to make too many modifications to the programming to be able to adapt it to his current need.

Considering the amount of money he was being paid to handle this it had been more than enough to make him forget that the man sitting next to him was the head of mafia family and he was about to expose another mafia family that had been responsible for Colin's death. Hell, he'd just been paid enough money that he could flee the country and not have to worry about any Boston mob families. He'd always wanted to travel through South America. He was about to get his chance.

Doyle waited impatiently while Luke let his eyes scroll through what appeared on the screen. He was just waiting for the transferred files to register as received to find their final destination.

Finally Doyle heard what he wanted to hear. "Got him," Luke said.

R&I

Crowe was sitting at his desk working on paperwork when Frost and Korsak approached him. He looked up and smiled. He liked both detectives even though neither really seemed to like him very much. His issue was with Jane, not them. He didn't like all the accolades Jane would receive for doing her job. Everyone in the station thought she was such a big deal and he just didn't see it.

"Hey guys," he greeted. Both men had pretty serious looks on their faces. "What's up?" he asked not sure what they wanted.

"Can you stand up for me?" Korsak asked without much explanation.

Crowe didn't move. "Why?" he asked trying to figure out what they wanted. Maybe it was some sort of prank.

"Stand up," Frost said in a few authoritative voice.

"What the hell is your problem?" Crowe asked getting a little annoyed with the attitude he was getting from both detectives.

"Currently you are my problem," Frost said. "This is the last time we are going to ask you to stand up. I suggest you do so."

Utterly confused Crowe found himself standing up if only to see what in the world all of this was about. "What…" was all he got out before Frost took his arm and pulled out his handcuffs.

"Darren Crowe," Korsak stated. "You are under arrest for violations of the RICO statute, conspiracy and felony obstruction of justice."

Crowe didn't know what to say. Frost slapped the second cuff around his wrist before Crowe started to verbally and physically resist. It was a stupid move especially with his hands in cuffs already.

"Get your fucking hands off me," Crowe argued and tried to pull himself away from Frost. In less than two seconds Frost had Crowe bent over onto the top of his desk and he was applying pressure to Crowe's wrists and elbow driving him into the desk.

"Shut up," Frost said. "You know what this is about. We know whose payroll you are on. Make this easier on yourself and just shut up."

Crowe tried to squirm one more time but Frost's control over him was complete. He had no choice but to relax.

When Frost felt the fight give way in Crowe he pulled him upright. This was the first time Crowe got to see the audience now surrounding the disturbance. The entire bullpen was in a semicircle watching Korsak and Frost arrest a fellow detective. Everyone was in shock.

Korsak removed Crowe's firearm from his hip and then the two detectives walked Crowe out the bullpen and to the elevators. Anyone within sight of the scene froze in place and just stared at what was transpiring. They stood there quietly waiting for the elevator to come take them down to processing. For Crowe, it would be one of the longest waits of his life.

R&I

Jane and Sean approached Dean's hotel room. Neither had guns drawn at that point simply because Dean had no idea they were aware of what he had done. Alex was on standby still remotely viewing Dean's laptop activity. With the rootkit, if Dean started to try to delete any information or eliminate what was accumulating evidence Alex had administrative rights to change the laptop system configurations remotely. In essence Alex could lock Dean out of the laptop with a single keystroke.

"You'd better knock," Sean said. He knew Dean would respond to Jane before responding to him. They had uniformed officers as back up just down the hallway. Jane asked them to keep a slight distance and only step in if needed or after the agent was in custody to assist with the execution of the search warrant.

Jane nodded. She took a breath and knocked on the door. They heard movement in the room and sounds of footsteps coming closer. Sean stood off to the side so when Dean looked through the door's eyehole he saw Jane but didn't see Sean.

He smiled immediately. Perhaps Jane had rethought her decision to turn him down. Maybe she really wasn't seeing anyone and had thought about him enough to want to have that actual date. He checked his appearance in the mirrored closet door before opening the hotel room door to greet the detective.

"Jane," he announced not concealing his pleasure at seeing her again. "What can I…" and he paused when he saw she was with Sean. "What's going on?" he asked a little concerned.

"Where's your firearm?" Jane asked in a rather cold voice.

"What?" Dean asked as if not understanding her question.

"Where's your gun?" Sean repeated a little more forcefully and he didn't hide his displeasure.

"On the dresser," he said pointing to the holstered Glock 19 on the hotel dresser. "What's going on Jane?" he asked starting to get the idea that something was really wrong.

Sean stepped into the hotel room without being asked and made his way to Dean's gun. He nodded to Jane that it was there and that he had possession of it. "Gabe," Jane said and looked right at him. "You are under arrest for felony grand theft, computer hacking, computer espionage, violations of the federal RICO statute, conspiracy and felony obstruction of justice."

Dean just stood there with a blank look on his face. Jane didn't flinch. "Jane…." he started but wasn't allowed to finish.

"Save it," she said. "You have the right to remain silent and I highly suggest you do so."

He was dumbfounded. The hostility in her tone convinced him that they weren't kidding around. The uniformed BPD officers that peaked into the room to make sure their lieutenant and detective were alright was his next hint. Sean's hands on his wrist and the cold sensation of metal being slapped around them was his final clue. He really was being arrested.

"You know the drill Agent Dean," Sean said. "Not only do you have the right to remain silent but I'd listen to Jane's warning about doing so if I were you," he said knowing Jane was furious with Dean. "If you say anything going forward it will be held against you. You have the right to an attorney. I hope for your sake you know a good one."

The second cuff slapped onto Dean's wrist and the reality was starting to sink in. He glanced over at his laptop and Jane caught the look. "Oh, don't worry," she said and pulled out a search warrant. "We'll be taking care of that for you."

He saw the search warrant and turned three shades of pale. He knew what was on his drive and he understood he was in serious trouble.

The CSRU techs entered the room to start to execute the search warrant. Two officers stood guard over Dean who was standing in the middle of the room without a real clue what to do. Sean signaled for the officers to take him down to the waiting police cruiser but Jane stopped them for just a moment.

She got close enough to Dean so he could hear her without anyone else listening in. She leaned in to speak to him. "For the record," she said and looked at him. "It's a she. Not a he."

That was all she needed to say. She stepped away from him and just watched as he really heard what she said. The minute it registered Jane knew. She knew he was now completely aware that he had been played from the start. And she also knew he'd guessed the she was Maura.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Maura had been sitting in her office trying to concentrate on work all morning but it just wasn't happening. Her mind was on everything but the tasks she was trying to get accomplished. Agent Dean had left her office over a three hours ago and Maura had spent those three hours in agony waiting for Jane to text her that Dean had at least tried to access the deleted files. To that point, she hadn't heard anything.

She tried to focus in on the lab report she'd been trying to read for the past 15 minutes but she just found her focus wasn't there. She knew until she heard from Jane she wasn't going to get much of anything done.

Needing a break, she decided to head up to the cafe and get a cup of tea. Perhaps that would help calm her nerves. She had been on edge the entire morning waiting for Dean. It had only gotten worse when Dean was in her office and now that she was stuck waiting for word from Jane as to what was going on, it was almost more than she was able to manage.

When she got to the cafe there was a line of about 3 detectives in front of her waiting to place an order. She went to secure her place in line when she heard a noise that sounded like a cell phone ringing. The noise sounded rather close to where she was standing but it was muffled. She looked around to see if any of the detectives in front of her went reaching for their phones. When they didn't and she heard the ring again it dawned on her that it might be her burner phone ringing. She just hadn't ever heard it since Jane only sent her text messages to that phone.

She stepped out of line and off to the side of the cafe and pulled out the burner phone. Sure enough, the phone was ringing. She quickly answered it knowing it was Jane but she tried to keep her voice down.

"Jane?" she asked hoping that this call was to tell her that everything was going to be alright. A part of her was just happy to get to hear Jane's voice. They hadn't talked over a phone in over three weeks. She was surprised how much she missed even something as simple as that.

"You're safe," came Jane's wonderful voice across the line.

Maura instantly started trembling. All the fear and anxiety that had been building up for her over the past few weeks and had seemed to loom over her most especially on that day suddenly seemed to be shrinking. Jane. Her Jane had just said she was safe. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She thought maybe Jane heard her breath catch so at least knew Maura was still on the line.

"I love you so much," Jane said in such a determined and expressive voice. A voice Maura knew Jane used only with her. The woman she loved had just told her their nightmare had come to an end. She tried again to say something but all the words just seemed to get stuck in her throat. "I need to get back to Sean but Maura, baby, you are safe. We did it. I just had to tell you."

She heard Jane say it a second time and knew she couldn't deny it. It had to be true. Jane was calling her and telling her that things were going to be ok. Dean must have found the files. He must not have been able to find anything connecting her to the Doyle family. Relief washed over the ME.

No more need for Doyle's men to be shadowing her. She never, ever saw them but she felt their presence. She didn't like being followed. No more sneaking around for late night rendezvouses with Jane. No more hiding their relationship from the people in their lives. No more indeed.

The relief that flood over Maura was almost debilitating. She was already trembling when she first heard Jane's voice but as she let the realization of what Jane's words meant to her sink in her couldn't stop the tears that started to trickle down her cheeks. Relief. Exhileration. Joy. Love. The ME was feeling it all and feeling it all at the same time.

It dawned on her that she hadn't said a word back to Jane yet. She was in no condition to say too much. For starters she was still standing in the cafe. After that, she just didn't seem to possess all of the right words to tell Jane what she was thinking or how she was feeling. Only one thought came to mind for her.

So she cleared her throat and tried her best to get the words out. "Always and forever." It was the best she could do given the heavy emotions of the situation.

"Forever and always," she heard back from Jane. She could practically see the smile on Jane's face and she knew, she just knew, that things were going to be alright from now on.

R&I

She left the cafe without getting her tea. Her head was spinning with questions she wanted to asked Jane about what had happened. Had Dean going looking for anything more than what Maura had deleted? Did the alterations Drew completed on her profile really hold up? Was the threat of detection truly over for her?

She knew she wasn't going to get any answers until she got to see Jane. But she knew her waiting on the day was only going to continue. She was well aware of the fact that Sean and Jane had made arrangements for Detectives Frost and Korsak to arrest Detective Crowe while Jane and Cavanaugh arrested Agent Dean after the file transfers had been completed and Jane was sure they had what they needed to trace the files back to the mob family.

Maura knew she would have to wait for Jane to handle the arrest and processing through booking before she was going to get any details or quite frankly anything more than the quick phone call she had just received. However, knowing that things seemed to be coming to a successful conclusion lead Maura to believe she would be able to at least get some work done while she waited for word that Jane had returned to the station.

Perhaps 30 minutes later Maura was finally finishing with the lab report she had spent the better part of her morning unable to review when she heard loud mumblings amongst her staff out in the hallway. She looked up and noticed Senior criminalist Chang was amongst the staff in the hall.

"Senior Criminalist Chang?" Maura called out.

Susie looked up and into her boss' office and saw Maura sitting behind her desk. She excused herself from the group and went to see what the ME wanted. "Yes Dr. Isles?" she replied.

"What's going on?" Maura asked hoping Susie would fill her in on whatever was causing the commotion in the hallway.

Susie smiled despite herself. "Big news," she said excitedly. "Detective Crowe just got arrested."

Maura, of course, knew this was going to happen but she wanted details. "Do you know what for?" she asked.

Susie shook her head. "No one seemed to know but Detectives Frost and Korsak just arrested him at his desk. Apparently he tried to resist and Detective Frost had to put him down onto the desk."

Maura fought the urge to smile. That served the man right for all the trouble he had caused. "And no one knows what this is all about?" Maura asked.

Susie shook her head again. "No," she said, "although the rumor is that his arrest is connected to a case Detective Rizzoli is working. I've heard people say Detective Crowe had something to do with the attempted computer hacking that happened a few weeks ago." Susie disliked Crowe immensely. Most of the females at the station disliked the egotistical, chauvinistic detective. Susie was going to love the fact, if it was true, that Detective Rizzoli was behind his arrest.

"Thank you," Maura said. She was prepared to dismiss the criminalist when Susie continued.

"That's not all," Susie said quickly not at all concerned about spreading potential gossip. "It's going around the station that Detective Rizzoli and Lieutenant Cavanaugh are on their way in with another arrested law enforcement officer. I'm hearing they arrested an FBI agent."

"Really?" Maura asked. Again, she was fully aware but couldn't tell that to the criminalist.

"Really," Susie said. "Those two are supposed to be here to process their arrestee in just a few minutes."

That made Maura's heart smile. Jane was returning to the station.

"Thank you," Maura said dismissing the criminalist. Susie took the hint and left Maura's office. She was still worried about the fact that Dr. Isles and Detective Rizzoli weren't speaking but she was too excited by the news about Crowe to let her mind stay focused on her boss in that moment.

Maura finished up her paperwork on the lab report that seemed to be taking a lifetime to review and then did something she hadn't been able to do for three weeks. She rode up the elevator to the homicide division. She was determined to see Jane the first minute she possibly could.

R&I

Dean had stayed quiet all through the drive back to the station. Once they had tagged Dean's laptop as evidence Jane and Sean didn't see the need to stay behind to supervise the remaining search of Dean's hotel room. They wanted to handle his processing personally. The looks the two detectives got the minute they stepped into lockup were amazing. Clearly the building was aware that Crowe had been arrested and now they were bringing in an FBI agent. The entire station was abuzz with gossip.

Jane handled the needed paperwork as quickly as she could. Now that she was back in the station and both Dean and Crowe were in custody she wanted nothing more than to see Maura. The very second she was done with her paperwork, Jane was off to the morgue to find the ME. Her voice over the phone earlier just wasn't enough for Jane. She needed to see her.

She was quickly disappointed however when she entered Maura's office only to find it empty. She checked all the labs and the morgue as well and there was no sign of the ME. Jane then headed to the bank of elevators. She was going to drop off some paperwork and then she wasn't going to do another thing until she had found Maura.

When the elevator doors opened to the homicide division, Jane stepped out to walk towards her desk in the bullpen. She felt the eyes of all her colleagues staring at her as she made her way towards her desk. There was no doubt that everyone in the station knew Crowe and Dean had been arrested and that Jane had something to do with it. She'd worry about all the rumors and any fallout from all of this later. For now, she wanted to find the woman she loved.

As if on cue, she rounded the corner and her desk came into focus. More importantly, the drop dead gorgeous honey blond who held her heart came into focus. Maura was in the bullpen. At her desk. Waiting for her. Waiting with an incredibly adorable smile on her face.

The minute Jane saw Maura her body just started to act on pure instinct. She was across the bullpen and at her desk in what felt like no steps at all. She had pulled Maura up out of the chair the ME had been sitting in giving the woman absolutely no time to react. And she had pulled Maura into a searing kiss without any warning and as the kiss deepened, certainly without any reservation.

Lips molded around lips. Jane didn't even wait to subtly ask permission for her tongue to enter Maura's mouth. She just did it. In seconds it was clear that Maura certainly didn't object. Her tongue was more than ready to battle it out against the over eager detective's.

They both got lost in the kiss. So lost they didn't see the crowd forming around them watching the two supposed best friends, fighting best friends at that, battle it out in a kisser's duel. So lost they didn't hear a single whistle of encouragement or the multiple cat calls that the crowd they never really noticed apparently (according to Frost) called out as their kiss went on and on. So lost in the freedom to express their love for each other that neither even paid any attention to the cheers and clapping that everyone watching seemed to erupt into when the shock of seeing Jane kiss Maura finally wore off.

They didn't care about any of it. They just knew for the first time in three weeks they didn't have to pretend to be fighting. They didn't have to pretend to be ignoring each other. They simply were allowed to start to show the world exactly what they meant to each other.

It was a helluva kiss and just about the best way to come out either would later say they could have thought of. If they'd actually been thinking about that anyway.

R&I

The most either got out after their kiss ended was a breathless, mumbled one syllable word.

"Home," uttered Maura staring directly into Jane's eyes.

"Now," answered Jane not even wanting to blink.

And in an instant they were gone. Jane thought she heard soft cheers and a 'Go get her' that sounded like it came from Frost but she was so wrapped up in Maura she wouldn't recall later if she really had heard it or if she had just imagined it.

They took the stairs to the parking garage. They weren't going to wait for the elevator. Jane drove them both back to Maura's. She had, after all, the siren and lights in her car. She didn't hesitate to use them as she sped through the Boston streets towards the Beacon Hill home.

They were in Maura's home and pulling at clothes in an instant. Maura again didn't even bother with trying to undo the buttons on Jane's shirt. She just simply ripped the shirt open and sent several button scattering across the kitchen floor. For once, Jane returned the favor. Maura, too, was in a button down shirt, but just as Jane's wouldn't make it out of the kitchen area in reusable condition so too would be the fate of Maura's shirt.

In between kisses as the destroyed shirts found their way to the kitchen floor Maura mumbled. "Definitely pull over clothes," as if she was finally realizing theirs would be driven by a need greater than Maura's want of fashion.

As lips worked over available lips, necks, shoulders, and even ears Maura's hands found Jane's belt buckle and it was undone in a flash. She then worked the detective's button and zipper on her pants loosening them up enough that they quickly fell off Jane's hips and balled onto the floor around Jane's ankles.

That wasn't much for the detective to deal with. She just stepped out of the pants kicking them out of the way leaving the detective in just her bra and panties. Not willing to be outdone, Jane quickly found the zipper on Maura's skirt and with less effort than it took Maura to depants Jane, Jane unzipped Maura and let the skirt simply drop to the floor. It was Maura's turn to kick the item out of the way.

In merely the time it took for them to get out of Jane's car and walk into Maura's kitchen they were both already striped down to the bra and panties. There was no way they were going to make it all the up into Maura's bedroom at the pace they were going.

Jane seemed to be the first of the two to sense that. Her solution was quite simple. She backed Maura up against the kitchen island and in a flash had hoisted the ME up onto the countertop. Jane stepped in between Maura's legs which found themselves wrapped squarely around Jane's waist and the two continued to exchange passionate kisses.

While still kissing, Jane's hands worked to free Maura of her panties. It didn't take much. Just a quick tug on the lace and Maura alternating brief lifts of her hips to allow the unwanted fabric to be pulled down.

Jane didn't bother with Maura's bra. That wasn't what she wanted. Instead, she pulled Maura forward to the edge of the countertop and dove straight into her core.

"Oh God!" Maura let out as she felt Jane's tongue lick slowly up her slit and against her clit. Jane started to trace the same path up and down Maura's outer lips continuing to do circles around the sensitive bud. It felt great and it didn't take long for Maura's body start to tingle. "More," she uttered between moans. As great as it felt it wasn't enough.

To help her cause, Maura ran her hand through Jane's hair until she had ahold of the back of Jane's head. She then used that hand for leverage pulling Jane even closer into her. Maura's hips started to grind against Jane's mouth.

Jane responded to Maura's clear need by penetrating her as deeply as she could with her tongue. Between Maura's grinding hips and the thrusting of Jane's tongue in and out of her, Maura was getting worked up amazingly quickly.

As Maura released another series of moans, Jane stepped up her game replacing her tongue with two fingers and moving her mouth to focus on Maura's clit. Her fingers and tongue worked in tandem with each other and Maura's ecstasy grew more and more. Jane could tell Maura was close and she really didn't have any intention of dragging anything out. They would have all night to bring each other into incredible states of both desire and satisfaction. This was just to be the first of many orgasms for the ME that night.

Jane increased the tempo on her thrusting fingers and started to curl them inside the ME. She also sucked Maura's clit into her mouth and let her tongue roll over it. The combination of all three movement's by Jane against Maura was finally enough to bring Maura to climax.

"Jaaaaaane!" Maura let out as she came. She slumped back against the countertop unable to hold herself up on her elbows any longer. Jane pulled out her fingers but used her tongue to lap up Maura's juices savoring the incredible taste that was uniquely Maura. Jane only stopped when she was sure Maura had fully come down from her high.

As Maura's breathing returned to a somewhat normal rate she wanted to start to work over the detective. But her post orgasmic brain didn't seem to be completely functioning to her genius level and she couldn't quite figure out how to get started with her still laying prone on the kitchen counter and Jane standing in between her legs. Their logistics were now incompatible for Maura to get her turn on Jane.

Propping herself back up on her elbows she looked at Jane and nearly pouted.

"What?" Jane asked unsure what the look on Maura's face meant.

"Come here," Maura said seductively.

Jane leaned into the ME who captured her lips and another searing kiss was shared between them. As the kiss ended Maura spoke again. "I want you but I'm not sure I can stand just yet." She had no problem with the idea of switching places with Jane she just wasn't sure she could actually stay standing after they switched.

Jane chuckled. She loved knowing she could reduce the woman's limbs to jelly. "I think I have a fix for that," she said and captured Maura's lips again.

As they kissed Maura felt Jane's arms grab her under her ass and start to pull her forward. Maura got the hint and she proceeded to wrap her legs tightly around Jane's waist and she felt herself get lifted from the kitchen counter. After a quick adjustment, Jane was able to carry Maura into the living room and up the stairs into the master bedroom. They managed to continue to kiss each other all the way only stopping when Jane laid Maura down on the bed.

Jane crawled on top of Maura and seemed intent to have her way with the ME again but Maura interrupted. "Oh no," she warned. "My turn." With that, she quickly flipped the two over so she was now on top of the detective.

Maura let her lips work over Jane's neck and ears. While she was, her hands managed to undo the front clasp of Jane's bra. Once free, Maura let her hands start caressing the mounds just enjoying the feel of her hands anywhere on Jane's skin. She worked Jane's nipples into a hardened state rolling them between her fingers.

Letting her mouth replace her hands against Jane's chest, Maura's hand kept busy working its way down Jane's abs until it was resting on Jane's inner thigh. Jane's hips instinctively rolled towards the sensation of Maura's touch.

Like Jane had done downstairs, Maura didn't try to tease. She just went for what they both wanted. She inserted two fingers into Jane admiring how wet the detective already was.

"Yes," Jane hissed at first penetration. Maura reveled in the feel of being inside Jane. Every time her hand had made its way into the woman it had felt just a little bit different. Each time just a little more familiar. Just a little more sure of what Jane would react to. What she liked. But each time, every time, it felt like it was exactly where she belonged in that moment.

She continued to let her tongue and teeth work over Jane's breasts while she pumped her fingers in and out finding a rhythm Jane was able to match with thrusts of her own hips. And just like Maura, Jane wasn't going to last too long. They both had been pretty worked up and seemed to be in need of a quick release.

Maura felt Jane getting closer and closer. She continued to suck Jane's nipple into her mouth and as her fingers slid in and out of the woman she used the palm of her hand to help stimulate Jane's clit. Maura immediately felt Jane's body respond.

"Let go," she whispered as she released Jane's nipple from her mouth. "I've got you."

That was all it took for the detective to stop holding back. She surrendered to her orgasm uttering Maura's name as she came. Maura pulled Jane into her and held her as her body started to settle.

The two spent several more hours exploring each other and taking delight in the pleasure they each could bring about. As they laid resting in each others arms, both completely sated, Jane looked down at Maura. "I don't have to leave," she said with a smile. There was no more need to sneak around.

Maura smiled and stared back into the deep brown eyes of the woman she loved. "I won't ever let you go again."

Jane curled Maura into her closer as sleep finally started to claim them both. As they both drifted they had the same thought. They were getting the start of their happily ever after.

R&I

Korsak, Frost, Jane and Maura made their way down the parking garage ramp towards the crime scene. It was the same parking garage in South Boston Jane had used to meet with Doyle over the previous weeks. Jane was pretty sure she knew who they were going to find when they reached the crime scene.

As the group slowly made their way down to the body none of them could say they were too surprised to be getting a call like this. It had been two days since Dean and Crowe were arrested. Two days since Jane, Maura and Sean had discovered which mob family had been behind Crowe and Dean. It was the same family ultimately responsible for the death of Colin Doyle. Jane just needed to prove it.

Two days.

In those two days, Jane and Sean tried working with the DA and US Attorney on affidavits and depositions trying to get some movement on the mob part of all of this. But two days wasn't a lot of time for a US Attorney to 'move' on any issue. Especially RICO issues. What the US Attorney didn't seem to understand no matter how many different ways both Jane and Sean tried to tell them was that Patrick Doyle possessed the same information they did about the identity of the mob family.

Patrick Doyle also had two days to react to the information Luke provided them all. And Luke had provided it directly to Patrick knew exactly who it was that had murdered his son and threatened to endanger the life of his daughter. Doyle had two days to extract street justice. And extract it he did.

They approached the victim. An adult male in his late 40s. The victim was bound to a chair and Jane wasn't going to have to guess at the cause of death. There was an ice pick protruding from his chest. The ice pick had also pierced through a faded picture.

Maura approached the body and carefully removed the ice pick handing to a CSRU tech to bag as evidence. This allowed her to remove the photo. She looked at it closely. It took a few moments but she managed to figure out who was in the photo.

"It's a photo of Patrick and Colin," Maura said looking at Jane and handing it to her so she could examine it. The faded picture was of a much younger Patrick Doyle with a toddler sitting on his lap. From several facial structures, Maura was certain the toddler was Colin.

"Looks like Doyle handled Tommy O'Rourke before the feds could get him," Frost pointed out.

They had all been expecting Doyle to do something. Strike out at O'Rourke's family at the very least. A part of Jane was surprised Doyle managed to find O'Rourke in order to kill him. The FBI and the US Marshals were searching all over Boston for the wanted mob boss. They could call off that search now. O'Rourke had been found.

"I think the photo sends a pretty strong message," Korsak said.

The four all exchanged looks, especially Jane and Maura, but it was Frost who spoke.

"Yeah. Don't mess with my family."

Sometimes. Sometimes you do what you have to do to protect your family.

R&I

"Maura," Jane said for the third time hoping that maybe the third time would get a reaction from the ME. "Come on," she tried to reassure her. "Everything is going to be just fine."

Maura was no where near certain of that. She shook her head. "I don't know how you can be so cavalier about this," she said rather pointedly.

"It's because I know none of the things you are worried about are going to happen," Jane answered. "Trust me."

"I trust you," Maura said. "That's not what's at issue here and you know it."

Jane sighed. The woman could exasperate her at times. "They love you Maura," Jane said. "I keep trying to tell you that."

"They loved me as your best friend," Maura pointed out. "How do you know they are going to love me as your girlfriend?"

They'd been sitting in Jane's car now for almost 10 minutes. Maura was refusing to get out of the car. So there they sat in the driveway of Jane's parent's home. It was Sunday dinner and Maura was suddenly worried that Jane's parents wouldn't accept her or their relationship no matter how many times Jane tried to tell her things would be fine.

"Simple," Jane said and reached over to take Maura's hand. "Because they love me and they want me to be happy. You make me happy. Therefore they will love you as my girlfriend." She was quiet for a minute and then added one last thought. "Besides," she started, "you're not really my girlfriend." Maura's head snapped up when she heard Jane say that but Jane continued. "You're my future wife."

She wasn't asking Maura in that moment. It wasn't a proposal. It was simply a statement of fact. One that Jane knew both her parents would see soon enough. There was just no hiding how in love her was with Maura. How they had managed to hide it from everyone for three weeks was now a complete mystery to them both.

Maura relaxed immediately after listening to what Jane said. Wife. She liked the sound of that. If that was really going to happen, she was going to have to get out of the car and have their first official Sunday dinner as a couple. She was going to have to believe in Jane's faith in her family. Her future family.

Maura took a deep breath and nodded. Finally she reached for the door handle and opened the car door. Jane was out of the car in a heartbeat and around to Maura's side before Maura had completely straightened herself out. Jane shut Maura's door and held out her hand. Maura looked at Jane's hand and then up into Jane's eyes. She saw only love. Smiling, she took the hand that was offered and the couple headed into the house for dinner at last.

**A/N Thanks to everyone who read, followed, favorite(d) and/or commented on this story. As always that is a truly humbling part of this process. Your support is greatly appreciated.**

**Until next time...**


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